


Lose Your Life

by thefrenchmilitary



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Eventual Smut, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2018-12-24 13:57:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 40,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12014205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefrenchmilitary/pseuds/thefrenchmilitary
Summary: When a deal with Bill turns out to be more trouble than it's worth, you are given an ultimatum: beat him at his game, or become his servant for all eternity. Against your better judgement, you accept the challenge only to find that this demon has several tricks up his sleeve.





	1. Hide

"Keep running kid! You'll never make it out!"

Loud, thunderous ticking filled your ears as you desperately tried to find your way out of this horror maze. As the seconds ominously passed by the panic in your heart grew worse. Why, why did you make that stupid deal?

_"So you'll help me?"_

_You looked up at Bill with hopeful eyes. There was finally a way to get yourself out of this mess. You could finally go back to living a normal life. The life you had before everything went south._

_"Hold your horses, kid. It's a bit more complicated than that."_

_You frowned and crossed your arms. "What do you mean? I summoned you so you have to do what I say. Isn't that how this stuff works?"_

_"Geez kid, for someone who looks so desperate you sure are demanding."_

_"I do not look desperate!" In all actuality you knew you probably did. Hell, you *were* desperate. "Look, can you help me or not? I'm kind of pressed for time on this."_

_"As a matter of fact I can. The thing is we need to strike up some kind of a deal before I can."_

_You suspiciously eyed the triangular being. "What kind of deal?"_

_"I'll get rid of your little problem, but in return I want something precious to you."_

_"Precious to me?" Your face twisted into a ball of confusion. "The most precious thing I had was already taken from me. I'm afraid I don't have anything to give you."_

_"Let's not be too hasty. Everyone has something to give you know."_

_The sound of tires screeching against the empty road startled you. You heard two doors slam shut and the sound of footsteps approaching._

_"Fuck! I don't have time for this! It's a deal, Bill!"_

_"Excellent," Bill said while extending his glowing hand towards you. Without hesitation, you took hold of it and shook._

"Shit!"

Your breath caught in your throat when you heard the hourly chime of a grandfather clock. _Ding_ , your time was running out. _Ding_ , only two hours left. _Ding_ , you had to get out of here.

The floorboards beneath you suddenly gave way, exposing a black void filled with eyes. They gazed into your very soul, reminding you that new horrors were everywhere. 

You broke into a sprint, hoping that the falling floorboards wouldn't catch up to you. You came across a corner and bolted down the new hallway.

Now, the eyes were lined up along the walls, but that wasn't the most disturbing part of this new hall. No, the most disturbing thing was that you could now hear teasing, demonic laughter coming from all directions.

"What the hell are you things?!" You covered your ears to try to block out their evil whispers and jeers, but it was no use. They seemed to scream out in your very mind.

Just as you thought your ears would bleed from the deafening voices you found yourself trapped in a dead end. Your heart nearly burst as you frantically ran your palms over the wall in front of you.

"No, no no! Fuck!" Curling your dominant hand into a fist, you punched the center of the wall as hard as you could. "What do I do now?! Damn it, Bill! This isn't fair! You forced me into this corner with that fucking disappearing floor act!" 

Tears of anger and fear began to pour down your face. Gasping for breath, you urged yourself to calm down. Mustering up all your courage, you turned around and dashed back down the hall.

"Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop." Those two words had basically become your mantra. As long as you were moving you had a chance of finding the exit.

You made it back to the first hall and its floor was now entirely gone. Gold and red eyes stared at you, unblinking. Your nerves were beginning to get the better of you. You were trapped.

Suddenly, a narrow staircase appeared in front of you. It extended far above the eye infested abyss below you and lead to what appeared to be another section of the demonic maze.

"Better get climbing, kid! Unless, of course, you'd prefer to stay where you are!"

Bill's voice filled the open space around you with gleeful mania. As the echos of it died down, you heard faint footsteps from down the hall. In the next few seconds they grew louder as the creature causing them get closer and closer to your location.

Knowing you'd be caught if you didn't get moving, you carefully made your way up the stairs. No matter how gingerly you stepped the stairs creaked and groaned under your weight. About halfway up the old wood began to break. 

Shakily, you got down on all fours and kept on climbing. There were no rails, so you had to hold onto the splintering wood for balance. Soon, your hands felt raw. As the wood tore at your hands you began to leave more and more blood on each step.

 _Ding, ding, ding!_

"What are you gunna do now kid? Time isn't exactly on your side!"

The world around you shook, nearly knocking you off the staircase. Caution flew out the window as you clawed your way to the very top of the staircase. You only had an hour left.

Not even taking a second to assess the damage to your hands, you ran through this new territory. From what you could tell, you were in some kind of home. There were several rooms lined up against the walls. Far too many for you to look through in the next hour.

You ran your injured hands through your hair. "What am I supposed to do now? I'll never find the exit."

_"You tricked me!"_

_You screamed at Bill until your throat was completely tired out. When he said he would take something precious from you you weren't expecting it to be your *life*._

_"I didn't do anything. You're the one who agreed to the terms and conditions." Bill looked at you, amusement evident in his eye._

_"You rat bastard! Those guys were going to kill me! If I knew you were going to do the same I would have taken my chances with them!"_

_"Easy there, kid. I told you I'd get rid of your problem and look!" He swept his cane over the bodies of the men. "They're as dead as can be! Completely gone and out of your hair."_

_"Are you fucking stupid?! What good does that do me if I'm dead too?!"_

_"Well to be fair I did give you a painless death. Would you have preferred to die from the round of bullets they were so eagerly going to shoot into you?"_

_"I don't care about that! Give me my life back! This is some bullshit!"_

_"Am I hearing this correctly? You wanna make another deal?" Bill held a hand up to where you guessed his ear would be._

_"Fuck your deals! Bring me back to life!"_

_"Didn't I tell you before that that isn't how this works?" He rolled his eye. "Gee, you humans sure are slow. I'll tell you what: you get your life back if you can escape me. You have three hours." A blue aura consumed the hand he extended towards you. "Deal?"_

_You skeptically glanced at his hand. "What happens if I can't do it?"_

_"Then you stay dead and have to serve me."_

_Not trusting him to play fair, you were fully prepared to refuse the offer. It was clear to you that you'd most likely fail. You figured it'd be better to spend all of eternity as a free spirit than as some kind of slave._

_That is, until you realized you could extend the offer._

_"If I win, can I bring someone back with me?"_

_"You mean your precious person? Yeah, sure, whatever kid. So do we have a deal or not?"_

_"Three hours to escape you?" You placed your hand in Bill's. "Deal."_

Your eyes widened as you remembered the wording of the deal. Technically, you didn't need to find a way out of this place, you just had to avoid getting caught by Bill. You had to find a place to hide.

Picking a random door, you hastily went in and locked it. The room you were in resembled a bedroom of sorts, although everything in it was much larger than it would be in an ordinary room.

There was another door located in the very corner of the room. Opening it, you discovered it lead to a bathroom. Deciding to take your chances, you went in and hid in the cupboard under the sink.

"It's okay, just breathe," you whispered. There were hundreds of rooms in this place. There was no way Bill would find you in time. Or, at least, that's what you kept telling yourself.

Trying to find a distraction, you began to pick the splinters out of your hands. Upon further inspection, you found that your hands had deep gashes in some places. The gashes were practically oozing blood.

"Shit," you hissed. Ripping off two pieces of your shirt, you used them to bandage the wounds. The gashes stung and it hurt to move your hands, but at least the blood was contained.

Suddenly, you realized that you had probably left a blood trail leading to your hiding place. At this rate, Bill would get to you for sure.

"God damn it. I need a new place to hide."

You got out of the cupboard as quietly as you could. You crawled out of the bathroom and slowly moved towards the bedroom door.

You tried listen for any footsteps in the hall, but all you could hear was the fearful beating of your own heart. Deciding to go on a bit of faith, you slipped out the door.

Much to your relief, the hall appeared to be empty. You tiptoed your way into another room a few doors down. This one resembled a living room.

You wanted to curse your luck. There were no good places to hide in this space, unless you counted the back of the couch.

"He'll find me in a second in here." You turned to leave, but then something caught your eye. A vent just big enough for you to crawl through was located between the coffee table and television. It was perfect.

Taking the cover off the vent took a bit of work, but you eventually managed it. You climbed in, carefully placing the cover back on. Once it was securely in place, you crawled a few feet deeper into the vent for good measure. Now all you had to do was wait.

Your breathing was shallow and your whole body was shaking from dread and exhaustion. This was it. Either you made it out alive or fell victim to Bill Cipher.

After what felt like an eternity, the silence you were once in was consumed by the loud, ominous ticking you had heard before. You heart rate accelerated as you desperately tried to figure out what it meant.

"Does this mean the hour's almost up?! Did I win?!"

Suddenly, you felt a pair of hands wrap around your ankles. A strong tug followed that cleanly pulled you out of the vent. Bill Cipher, now clad in human form, faced you with a manic grin.

_Ding, ding, ding!_

"I win, kid."


	2. Dance

Honestly, you didn't know what you had been expecting once you became Bill's servant. You definitely thought there'd be more torture, brimstone, and fire though.

Instead of wrapping you in chains, one of the first things Bill did was give you a solid form. Technically you were still dead, but you looked and felt like a regular human being. Still, you were sure that an eternity of misery would soon follow this gesture. 

You were wrong.

He was actually a pretty laid back guy when he wasn't out striking unfair deals with mortals. Mostly he just hung around in his demon dimension while you stayed on Earth doing small tasks for him here and there.

_"Hey kid, be a doll and get me some of that stuff you humans call ice cream would you?"_

_"I have a craving for some mild horror. Go haunt someone. You humans are so entertaining to watch when you're scared."_

_"Kid, go out and bring me back something pretty. I need a change of pace."_

"This guy took my soul just to make me run errands," you muttered bitterly as you got ready to deliver him a haul of freshly caught sea bass. "What does he even need this stuff for?"

You hauled the bass into a nearby forest and waited for Bill to materialize before you. After about ten minutes you grew aggravated that he was taking his sweet time.

"Seriously Bill? Hurry up, this fish smells fucking awful." It was times like these where you wished that your senses weren't still as sharp as they were when you were alive.

"Relax kid, it's not like your gunna die from waiting. We have an eternity!"

Bill finally appeared before you, twirling his cane without a care in the world. He snapped his fingers and held the eyeball that appeared in front of your face.

"Ew! Get that away from me!"

"Ain't it nice?" He held the eye up towards the sun and examined it. "Just got this as part of a deal with some guy in Finland."

"That's disgusting! Here," you threw the net of bass towards him, "take your nasty fish and go!"

"Aww, someone doesn't sound very happy." Bill used his magic to transport the net to wherever it was that he needed it. "Lighten up kid. You'll never get anywhere with that attitude."

You stared and him with deadpan eyes. "I hate you."

"Come on, don't be like that. Besides, I have just the thing to cheer you up!"

You crossed your arms and took a step back. "Keep it. I don't want anything from you."

"Well that's just too bad because you don't really have a choice." He grabbed you by the sleeve of your shirt. "Next stop, my dimension!"

"Wait what?!"

A flash of light consumed you and you were suddenly standing in an unfamiliar room. It looked like something straight out of a nightmare. The atmosphere was even more unsettling than the horror mansion you were in just a few days ago.

"I'd ask where we are, but I'm kind of scared to find out." You inched closer to Bill, trying to hide behind his triangular form.

"Don't be so tense, this is my house!" He swept his hand in front of him. "What do you think? Pretty cozy, right?"

"Yeah," you began, "if you like the sensation of fear itself crawling all over you."

"I know! Isn't it fantastic?!"

Shuddering, you did your best to block out what you were seeing. "Can we go back to Earth. This place is creepy."

"No can do kid. You see, I'm kind of a big deal around here," he bragged. "When you're as popular as I am you tend to get invited to a lot of stuff."

Bill flicked his wrist and a small envelope appeared. He tossed it to you and continued.

"So there's this big demon bash going on. Everyone's gunna be there, but I'm a busy guy. I can't just turn down the invitation, so you're gunna go in my place." 

"No. Nope. Nu-uh. No way." You pushed the envelope containing the invitation back into his hand. "Dealing with one demon already takes enough work. There is no way in hell I'm going to a party full of them."

"Aww, it'll be fun! Trust me."

"If it's really all that great then why don't you make room for it in your schedule?" You crossed your arms and frowned. "What do you have to do that's so important anyway? Make some more shady deals? I'll gladly take that over if it means I don't have to go to this stupid party."

Bill's eye narrowed. "Am I hearing this right? You don't want to go?" He threw his cane down. "Well tough luck. This is now an order. You _will_ go to that party and you _will_ have a good time. Understood?"

Groaning, you pinched the bridge of your nose. "If I weren't already dead I'd beg for death."

The conversation was effectively over at that point. Bill went off to do whatever important business he had to attend to and you got ready for the party. You weren't sure what to wear so you tried to go for something that was attractive yet casual. 

Soon enough you were heading out. The invitation had some vague instructions on how to get to the party hall, but it still took you a while to figure out which way to go. Everything in this dimension was pure chaos, so it was hard to tell where you were going and where you had been.

Once you made it to the party you quietly stood in the corner. Bill never said you had to mingle. You were going to stay in this corner until it was time to go home.

Loud music blared in your ears and monsters and demons alike were getting absolutely wasted. You had no clue what they were drinking, but it was getting everyone's blood pumping.

"Ugh," you scrunched up your nose at a nearby group of monsters getting a little too wild for your taste. "It's like a Hollywood fraternity party in here."

The music grew in volume as the night progressed and soon every creature in attendance was on the dance floor. You weren't sure if the loud screams you heard from the center of the crowd were caused by over-excitement or agony.

You did your best to block out everything that was going on, but soon you began to notice a group of demons staring in your direction. At first you thought they were looking at someone else, but you quickly glanced around and found that you were the only one by the wall.

Clearly unnerved, you walked to the other side of the room and took a seat at an empty table. Things were fine for a while, but soon enough you felt the stares of more creatures being directed your way.

You weren't sure whether or not that was your cue to leave. On one hand you felt a bit unsafe with so much attention being directed your way, but on the other you could understand why they were staring. Even though you were a ghost now you figured it wasn't everyday that these creatures saw a human.

Besides, you figured Bill wouldn't be too happy if he found out you left early.

Sighing, you decided to just grin and bare it. At least none of the monsters or demons were approaching you.

"Hey kid, having fun yet?"

Startled, you jumped out of your seat and clutched your chest. "Bill?! What are you doing here?!"

Upon closer inspection, you realized that he was sporting his human form. He kicked his feet up on the table, leaned back in his chair, and placed his arms behind his head.

"I finished some stuff faster than I expected, so I decided to drop by and see how my lovely servant was doing."

"Your an ass," you mumbled. "What's with the human getup?"

"I figured you'd feel uncomfortable with all the attention being drawn your way, so I decided to take some of it off of ya." The eye not covered by his bangs shinned with mischief.

"Alright, what's the catch? You never do things just to be nice."

"Gee, you really do have little faith in me." Bill swung his legs off the table and stood up. "I really was doing this out of the goodness of my heart."

You scoffed. "Yeah, sure you were."

"But," he interjected, "since you decided to mention it there is something I want."

"I knew it. So what is it this time? Want me to go fix you a plate of food? Want me to feed you?"

"A dance."

Confused, you looked up at him. "What?"

"You really need to clean your ears. Dance with me." He held his right hand out in front of you.

You narrowed your eyes. "I don't trust this."

"Oh quit being so suspicious, kid. Is asking for one measly dance really that big of a deal?"

You hesitantly stared at his hand. "Well ordinarily I guess not but this is you we're talking about."

Bill frowned. "What do you want me to do? Get on my knees and beg? Just give me one dance and then you can sit at this table until the party is over."

You groaned. "Fine. Once dance," you held up one finger for emphasis, "just one."

You placed your hand in his and let him lead you to the dance floor. Telling you to wait, he scurried over to the DJ. You guessed he was requesting a song.

He quickly returned and placed one hand on your shoulder and the other on your hip. "Do you know how to dance to jazz?"

"Uh, I guess? I don't think I've ever really tried."

"It's swing," Bill said. "Just follow my lead."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the song he had requested began to play. The sound of a trombone and drums filled your ears, followed by a piano. Bill began to tap his feet along to the beat, slowly spinning the two of you in a circle as he did so. He soon let go of you so you were dancing side by side.

You did your best to keep up with his moves, but compared to his elegant and crisp movements you probably looked like a mess.

"I can't keep up with this fancy footwork," you told him, "and what do I do with my hips?!"

"You just have to feel it kid! Come on!" He took your hand and spun you around fast enough to give you whiplash. Before you could register what was happening Bill lifted you over his head, swung you down between his legs, and got you back on your feet.

With this new position, he now had both of your hands in his. Still slightly dazed from being thrown around, you did your best to match your footsteps to his.

"You know, 'feel it' is really vague. Right now I feel dizzy," you complained.

"Don't be so negative. Look, your already getting better!" He used his head to gesture to your feet, which were now more or less in sync with his.

"Hey! I'm doing it!" You weren't sure why you got so excited. You reasoned that it was probably because you'd never really been good at dancing before.

"Wanna try something a little harder?"

Before you could answer, Bill grabbed you so that your back was now facing him. You stumbled and became a bit lost. You weren't sure what to do now that you couldn't watch and copy Bill.

"Relax kid. Just move your feet."

You felt Bill squeeze your hands and you took a deep breath. Once you let it out, you began to move your feet. You didn't know if you were doing it right, but something in you felt like this was the way things were supposed to go.

"See?" Bill's enthusiastic voice rose over the crowd. "You're a natural!"

Laughing, you gave yourself over to the music. Several twirls and position changes later, the song finally ended. Panting, you flowed Bill as he lead you back to the table.

"See," he said while wiping the beads of sweat off his face, "that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Taking a seat, you tried to regulate your breathing. "I guess not. It was actually kind of fun."

"Well, I'm gunna head back out there. I'll come get you when it's time to go." Bill patted your head and disappeared in the crowd.

You stayed at the table and did some origami with napkins to pass the time. Eventually Bill did come back for you and the two of you headed home.

"That was some party, huh?" Bill was obviously still high off of the adrenaline. His dress shirt was drenched in sweat and his bow tie had come undone.

"It was okay I guess." You looked at the scenery as the two of you walked down the street. You figured you were adapting pretty quickly since this new dimension didn't seem as horrifying anymore. "So when do I go back to Earth?"

"Ah, soon enough, kid. I'm too exhausted to transport you there," Bill said in between yawns.

"But you're a demon. How can you be tired?"

"I may be a demon, but as long as I keep this form I'm pretty much condemned to all the limitations you humans have."

You scrunched up your brow. "Then why keep it?"

Bill grinned down at you. "Because it's fun."

Considering the fact that he was an immortal demon you guessed he had to get his entertainment somehow.

"So does this mean I have to spend the night here?"

"'Fraid so. You can crash on the couch."

"Great," you said sarcastically.

The two of you finally made it back to Bill's place. He didn't have any extra blankets, so it looked like you were going to be using the pillows to keep warm.

"Rest up kid. I have more things for you to do in the morning."

"Oh joy," you muttered while trying to get comfortable on the couch.

"Oh yeah," Bill blurted, "I did some research and discovered a thing you humans do before you go to sleep. I think it's called a goodnight...something. I wanted to try it out."

"You mean goodnight, sweet dreams?" You stared at him quizzically. "Just say that back and there. You've done it."

"Goodnight, sweet dreams," Bill said in an unsure tone. Then, he walked over to the couch and planted his lips on top of yours.

You body froze in alarm. You never expected something like _this_ to happen. 

You weren't sure if he knew what he was doing. The kiss wasn't really a kiss, it was more like he banged your heads together and crushed your lips with his.

After a few seconds, he pulled away. "Did I do that right? Your nightly human rituals are weird."

The shock was still running through your body, so you couldn't respond. Bill's eye widened in astonishment as he stared at you.

"Oh! So is this some kind of paralysis inducing ritual?" He continued to stare for a few more seconds before heading to his room.

Stiffly, you curled up into a ball. Who in the world would tell Bill Cipher about a goodnight _kiss_?


	3. Pray

Church. Of all the places you could have gone _this_ was where your feet decided to take you.

Your brow furrowed in uncertainty as you looked up at the large structure. It was beautifully maintained, and those stained glass windows were certainly a sight, but there was still a sense of strangeness that came with being in front of it all.

You were a ghost, so did that mean you wouldn't be able to pass through the front door? You'd seen it several times before in the movies. Churches had some kind of invisible barrier that kept all evil spirits and demons out.

Then again, you weren't really evil. Sure, you worked for a being that was basically chaos and ruin incarnate, but you doubted the building would hold your job position against you.

So, you sighed and gently pushed your hand against the door. When it opened just enough for you to squeeze through, you closed your eyes and did just that.

You didn't open them until you heard the door close itself behind you. Raising your hands up to your face, you saw that they were still intact. No burn marks or whatever it was this place was supposed to inflict upon demonic creatures.

"Maybe I was stupid for believing all that movie stuff," you told yourself. In your defense, you never intended to end up here. It caught you off guard.

Ever since Bill kissed you your mind kept blanking out. You couldn't look at him for too long without being reminded of the awkward display. These days you did your best to avoid him.

Walking through the church's halls, you let your mind wander. How long had it been since the kiss? A week or so? Bill had transported you back to Earth the morning after it happened, so your rough estimate had to be close to how much time had actually passed.

You stopped in your tracks when you came to a sudden realization. You had been thinking about the kiss earlier which made you blank out and wind up at church. Crossing your arms, you leaned against the wall and stared up at the ceiling.

"This your way of telling me I need Jesus?"

Naturally, there was no answer to your question. You snorted and continued on your way. 

You passed several statues depicting biblical figures, saints, and the typical 'angels vs. demons' theme. You weren't sure how you felt about it all, but you guessed the least you could do was appreciate the artistry that went into the pieces.

That was when someone coming out of a room caught your attention. As they walked off, you went over to the door they had exited from and peeked inside.

There were rows of people lined up in the pews with their head down in prayer. At the front of the room, there was a cross hanging from the wall. This was the oratory.

Hesitantly, you stepped inside and closed the door as quietly as possible. If you were in church you figured you might as well do something.

Taking a seat near the wall, you knelt at the pew and stared at the large cross. Out of the corner of your eye, you also watched the other people. For a minute, you found yourself wondering what it was they were all praying for.

Lowering your head, you closed your eyes and went back to the moment at Bill's house. You never got around to telling him what it actually was that he had done; he still assumed it was a paralysis spell of some sort. But you knew. You knew _exactly_ what it was, and that was what was messing with your head.

It was stupid. Bill was an idiot who had no clue what a goodnight kiss was. There was no meaning behind the kiss---he was just curious. So why couldn't you get it out of your head?

_God, if you really are out there, now would be the time to provide me with some guidance._

You sent up the silent prayer before feeling a twinge of guilt. Even before you had well... _died_ you weren't exactly what you would call a devoted follower. Was it rude to ask for assistance?

A small bubble of nervous laughter began to bubble in your throat. Back when you were still alive you wouldn't have worried about something so trivial. Even if "god" took offence to you demanding help you wouldn't have cared because the chances were he didn't even exist.

But now that you were dead and acquainted with Bill, you knew better than anyone else just how real these all powerful beings could be. So, while it was true that you still didn't have any particular proof that this god didn't exist, it was better to be safe than sorry.

_Sorry if that made you angry or if I was being disrespectful just now. Please don't smite me._

Oh no, having one supernatural being on your case was more than enough.

After giving your apology, you decided to work out your little problem. Surely the reason you couldn't get the kiss out of your head was because it was so unexpected and absurd, right? Right.

That had to be it. It was so random and uncharacteristic of Bill that it was leaving a lasting impression. You had cracked the case.

Getting up, you exited the oratory as quickly as you could without making too much noise. Once you were out, you retraced your steps and exited the way you had come in.

Once you were outside, you didn't even make it halfway through the parking lot before the world seemed to lose all color.

"Well kid, I gotta say out of all the places you could have gone I didn't expect to find you here!"

And so the devil appears.

"Eh, it just kind of happened. I wasn't even here for that long. Guess I was just curious about what the inside looked like."

"Uh huh," Bill said teasingly, "is that why it took you fifty years to go through the front door?"

"Asshole," you snapped, "you were watching me weren't you?!"

"What can I say? You're entertaining."

"Haven't you ever heard of privacy?! God!"

Annoyed, you stomped away. To your surprise, Bill didn't attempt to stop you. Immediately after you began storming off, color returned to the world.

"He's such a dick," you told yourself. "I can't believe I wasted a week of my life thinking about him."

Just then, you passed a tree with something carved into it. Upon closer inspection, it was an arrow, pointing towards the street. Ordinarily you wouldn't have thought much of it, but the little triangle with an eye carved next to it told you all you needed to know. Bill had obviously froze time again, only this time he had frozen you as well so he could do this.

Sighing, you knew that duty called. You jogged up to the street and kept a keen eye out for Bill. 

Your vision was soon disrupted by a colorful wad of... _something_ being thrown at you. Catching it, you gave yourself a better look at what it was: a bouquet of roses.

"Jeez kid, does this make you feel better? I swear, you get angry over the tiniest things."

A human Bill was suddenly standing behind you. His face looked tired and slightly annoyed.

"You think flowers can make up for you stalking me?"

Bill shrugged. "Isn't that the kind of stuff you girls like? I swear I've seen this thing work for like a thousand guys in France."

Stuffing the bouquet under your arm, you placed a hand on your hip. "Where did you get these?"

Lifting his finger, Bill pointed to the church. "Over there."

"Oh my god, you stole them from the church! Someone probably left them there as an offering. Fuck Bill, don't you have a conscious at all?!" 

"Nope."

"If I wasn't dead and if you weren't an all powerful demon I'd beat your ass for giving me a one way ticket to hell. I mean shit, stealing from a church has to be blasphemy right?"

"Ugh, _relax_ kid. You worry too much. Here," with a snap of his fingers, the flowers disappeared, "no harm done."

Completely at a loss for words, you glared at him.

"Geez, alright, alright, I'm sorry! There, you happy?"

"Not really, but it's a start."

Crossing your arms, you began walking. As soon as you became aware of Bill next to you, you huffed and angled your face away. The man was inconsiderate, had no respect for your privacy, and had no moral compass whatsoever.

A round of chuckling caught your attention. Not letting your step falter, you looked over to where the sound was coming from.

Two teenage girls were staring at you and Bill, obviously trying to contain their laughter. Sighing, you realized that the two of you must really look like an arguing couple.

"So how long are you going to be mad at me?"

Bill's voice was low and impatient. Well, it looked like he hated being ignored above all else.

"Until you do something worthy of my forgiveness."

"Well what's worthy of your forgiveness?"

Stopping, you turned on your heel and cupped his face. "That's for you to figure out."

Letting him go, you continued on. Maybe the two of you really were like an awkward couple.


	4. Forgive

Yes, you might have been royally pissed back at the church, but you honestly didn't expect Bill to _actually_ put some effort into gaining your forgiveness.

It was the strangest thing you'd ever experienced, and that was saying something considering all the bullshit you'd been thorough since you died.

Bill moped around like a kicked puppy. He truly couldn't stand being ignored; a demon with his caliber of power was always the center of attention. You figured this was probably the first time he'd ever received the cold shoulder.

He was apologizing every few minutes. You'd feel a tug at your sleeve followed by pleads for attention and drawled out, whiny apologies. He was acting like a toddler.

You wanted a mature, sincere apology so you continued to ignore him. Until he could give you what you wanted you weren't going to acknowledge him at all.

At least, not in the way he wanted. You were still doomed to be his eternal servant, so you'd follow his orders if it had something to do with his work. The thing that drove him crazy was that you'd follow them silently. 

Usually you'd complain and moan about whatever work he had in store for you, but now you were as quiet as could be. You could see that it bothered him; he wanted any attention he could get, even if it was negative.

Well, unless he started acting like a mature adult he wasn't going to get it.

After a few days of being ignored, Bill must have realized that he wasn't getting anywhere with the way he was doing things. For two blissful days he stopped pouting like a child and let you go about your work in peace. But after those wonderful 48 hours he came up with a new strategy.

He began to leave small gifts for you wherever you went. Jewelry, accessories, clothing. If he thought you might like then he got it for you.

You were confused when he first began to leave the gifts and, admittedly, a bit suspicious. Bill never gave things away for free. There was always a catch.

"Bill, why are you giving me all this stuff?"

"Because I thought you'd like it," he said as if giving away trinkets was a daily occurrence for him.

"No. This is too weird. Pretty soon you're gonna want something in return for all this stuff. Take it back," you ordered.

"But it's for you. Consider it an apology gift."

"So _that's_ what this is about?! I didn't forgive you when you gave me those flowers, so why would I forgive you now?!"

You stormed out of the room after that conversation and went back to ignoring the magical demon. He had some nerve, trying to buy your forgiveness and whatnot. For a being that supposedly had infinite knowledge he sure was stupid.

The two of you avoided each other for a week after that. You continued to do whatever lackey tasks Bill assigned you and he did his usual shady work. It was nice to have things be so quiet for once. It really gave you time to think.

You were sitting on the side of an empty road. Work was slow today so you decided to take a break.

You began to think about your life---or rather your lack of life. If you were still alive, what would you be doing right now?

The question made your stomach lurch. Your mind began to search for an answer, but you were coming up with nothing.

What was it that normal humans did? Work? Hang out with friends? Laugh and cry? These vague notions filled your thoughts until you felt suffocated.

You had gotten used to this whole. . .being _dead_ thing. It was getting harder and harder for you to remember what it was like to have a normal life. Sure, you had all your memories of being alive, but they felt so far off and distant.

"Kid, you alright?"

Bill's voice snapped you out of your tormented mindset.

"I'm fine."

You heard some shuffling and suddenly Bill was sitting next to you.

"You don't look fine. I recognize that look you had in your eyes. I see it all the time."

You turned your face away from him. "Oh? And what would that look be?"

"Fear," Bill said manner of factly. "Panic."

You grunted in response. The two of you were fighting so you wouldn't have talked to him for very long either way, but something about the thoughts that had just been racing through your head made you want to talk to him even less.

"What were you thinking about that got you all frazzled," Bill asked.

You pulled your knees against your chest. "Why bother asking? You can just read my mind, can't you?"

"Yeah, but I'd rather have you tell me."

The sincerity in his voice caught you off guard. Was he. . .worried about you?

Could demons even feel concern for others? Were you witnessing some sort of cosmic phenomena?

"I was thinking about how being dead feels natural to me now," you said cautiously. You still weren't sure if this situation was safe.

"And?"

You pulled your knees in even tighter. "And that's weird. Being alive seems so foreign to me now. When I think back on my human memories I _know_ they're real and I _know_ that I experienced them but they all feel like they happened to someone else."

"Why's that such a bad thing? Look kid, people change all the time. Doesn't matter if they died or not. Do you think someone who's thirty is the same person they were when they were ten? They're not! I'd bet that they think back on their childhood and feel like they're looking at a dream or something."

You took a moment to consider his words. He had a bit of a point.

"It's not really the same thing, though. I _died_. I'm doomed to forever play second fiddle to a demon," you pointed out.

"Eternal damnation can be fun," Bill insisted with a nudge.

You gave a lighthearted scoff. "This your way of making me feel better?"

"That depends, is it working?"

You cracked a small smile. "Oddly, yes."

"Good," Bill said before looking away sheepishly. "Look kid, I'm really sorry about what happened back at that church. I didn't mean to upset you so much."

Your body jumped at the apology. Today was throwing you surprise after surprise.

"It's okay."

Bill's eye widened. "Wait, really?!"

You rolled your eyes, but instead of feeling annoyed you felt endeared.

"Yes, really. But don't make such a big deal out of it or you'll fuck it up."

The way Bill instantly composed himself made you want to laugh.

"Got it."

The two of you stayed on that curb for the next couple of hours talking and enjoying each other's company. Things between the two of you were finally turning amiable.


	5. Realize

_Amiable_. Things were only supposed to be _amiable_ damn it.

That conversation on the curb had ruined you. This was the point of no return. No matter how much you denied it or how much you tried to ignore the truth, you knew that you had developed a crush on Bill.

You cursed under your breath while your hands ran through your hair. These feelings must have started to surface after he had managed to make you feel better and now, a month later, you've finally noticed them.

In all honesty you were a fool for not noticing them sooner. Ever since the two of you had talked about life, death, and what it meant for you, there have been subtle changes in your dynamic.

First of all, you were putting a bit more effort into your appearance. At the time you told yourself it was a way to keep your spirits up. After all, a person who looks good feels good, right?

"Right, dumbass," you said to yourself sarcastically with a self deprecating scoff. How did it take you this long to realize that you wanted to look good for him?

Then there was the fact that you'd get done with work early so you'd have time to talk to Bill. You told yourself you just wanted to talk to your friend, but there was no way a mere friend could make your heart pound with every syllable they uttered. 

And that was exactly what Bill did to you. He'd drone on about a topic for what felt like hours, but you wouldn't mind. His voice resounded blissfully in your ears as your mind clouded over in content. It was a wonder that he'd never noticed how awestruck you looked during your conversations.

Then there was the thing that made you realize the truth behind your feelings. Recently you'd been finding any and every reason to have physical contact with Bill. Sometimes you'd stand closer to him than necessary so your sides would touch. Other times you'd purposefully reach for a random item at the same time as Bill so your hands would brush. Then there the hugs you'd been giving him recently.

It was obvious that Bill had no idea how human friendships were supposed to work. As such, he asked you to show him everything they entailed which was how you began hugging him in the first place.

But your hugs were much too long and much too tight to be considered friendly. When you noticed just how intensely you hugged him, you began to ask yourself _why?_ What was it about Bill that made you embrace him so fondly?

And that's when you got your answer. Your stupid heart and stupid brain decided to go and develop feelings. 

Sighing, you walked to the bathroom sink and splashed some water on your face. All this thinking and realizing was really doing a number on you. 

Either you had to get rid of these feelings or carry their secrecy with you for eternity. Bill was an all powerful demon. You highly doubted that he took the time to think about trivial emotions.

So then why did it feel like he was holding something back as well?

Him not _understanding_ or _thinking_ about emotions didn't mean he didn't _have_ them. Once you came to term with your feelings you began to run Bill's own actions through your head.

He was giving you less work. Sure, that may mean that work has been slow, but there was also the possibility that he wanted to spend more time with you. That, or you were just giving in to wishful thinking.

Then there was the way his eye seemed to. . . _linger_ on you for much longer than appropriate. Sometimes you'd catch him staring, but for the sake of keeping him comfortable you ignored it. 

Although, a part of you felt like he probably knew that you had noticed either way. He could read your mind after all. Maybe you were both just caught in a perpetual loop of trying to keep each other comfortable by not revealing what you knew.

Lastly, the most convincing piece of evidence you had to back up your theory was that Bill was _always_ in his human form these days. Before he would only dawn it on special occasions, but it had been weeks since you'd seen him in his true triangular body. Deep down inside you suspected this was because he thought this form was more appealing to you.

Well, he certainly wasn't wrong, but this whole situation had you on the edge. Sure, you had strong reason to _believe_ Bill might feel the same way, but until you heard it from him directly your beliefs were all based on speculation. 

You wanted confirmation, and you wanted it badly, but your pride wouldn't allow you to just ask the demon how he felt. It'd make you look pathetic and idiotic.

Not to mention the fact that you were scared of rejection. 

If it turned out you were just looking too deep into into Bill's behavior you'd. . .you didn't even know. That's how crazy these emotions and thoughts had you. You had no clue how you'd react if Bill didn't feel the same way.

So, you continued to splash cold water on your face as you willed your emotions to die down. 

"You know you can't drown yourself, right? You've already met your maker."

Sputtering, you turned off the sink and lifted your head. Bill was leaning against the wall, watching you with a curious eye.

"I wasn't trying to drown myself," you told him while doing your best to ignore the way his messy, tousled hair made your heart jump. "I was cooling off."

You felt the intensity of Bill's questioning gaze on you as you dried your face with a towel.

"Care to tell me what's got you all hot and bothered?"

"Not really," you said as you tossed the towel to the side. "I've just been thinking too hard. I got swept away in the moment."

Taking a step forward, Bill stared you down. "Something tells me there's more to the story than you're letting on."

"What more is there to tell? I got caught up in my own thoughts and had to take a breather."

The way Bill cocked his head to the side in consideration told you that he could sense you were telling the truth.

"Alright then. I've gotta go take care of something, but holler if you need anything."

One bright, flashing light later Bill was gone. Groaning, you kicked the wall. 

It was obvious that Bill knew you were hiding something. It was only a matter of time before he found out what.


	6. Teach

It was funny the way the world could help you put things into perspective. Just a short time ago you were stressing about continuing to keep you feelings hidden from Bill and now you'd give anything to have that be your only problem.

Was it even a problem? Your stupid feelings felt like a walk in the park now that you'd been hit with the emotional equivalent of being run over by a bulldozer. 

Your mother passed away. You had seen it on the news on a visit back to your old stomping grounds nearly a week ago. It was the biggest story of the day: thirteen people murdered in a crossfire between gangs. If her picture hadn't have popped up on the screen as they read off the names of the victims you wouldn't have believed it.

There was no way to describe how you felt in that moment. It was like your lungs were suddenly full of water and you couldn't breathe. Your mind began to race as fear, anger, and denial rushed through you. You didn't want to believe it. You didn't want it to be true.

But it was. There was nothing that could change that.

Although it made every part of your being freeze in numbness, you did your best to keep up with the funeral arrangements. It was the least you could do. Especially since you couldn't arrange for it yourself.

You found out your extended family was doing their best to put together as nice a funeral as they could. Aunts and uncles chipped in for a casket, cousins ordered your mother's favorite flower arrangements from local stores. Watching them work so hard for her sake was enough to make you cry.

She would have loved it and knowing that you couldn't help her have the most wonderful final moments before burial ate at you. 

"I'm a horrible daughter," you spat. You knew there was nothing you could do about it. After all, _you_ were dead, too. But it still made you feel like a hopeless failure. 

Choking back the lump in your throat, you got up to find Bill. The funeral was today and you wanted to let him know you wouldn't be able to do any work.

"Bill?"

You peaked into his room only to find that he wasn't there. Your shoulders slumped as you headed down into the kitchen. You really weren't in the mood for hide and seek. You just wanted to get this over with.

"Bill," you called as you stood by the kitchen table. Again, there was no sign of the demon.

"Damn it Bill, quit hiding. I'm really not in the mood for this."

"Who's hiding? I was in the bathroom."

Right on cue, Bill emerged from the bathroom. He quickly took notice of your black dress.

"Going somewhere special," he asked with a raised brow.

"I guess you could say that," you answered. "Anyways, I came to tell you that I won't be able to do any work for you today." You paused for a moment then started up again. "Actually I'll probably need the next two of three days off to...process."

"Process? What's got you worked up now, kid? Your mind has been a mess for a while now."

Looking down at the ground, you gave a weak shrug. "A lot's been going on recently."

"Is it the stuff about your mom?"

Your eyes snapped up. "You know about that?"

Bill nodded. "It's just like I said. You've really been a mess recently."

"Thanks," you interrupted bitterly. 

"I wasn't finished," Bill said. "Up until a few days ago I didn't think much of it, but after that it was like someone dropped an atomic bomb on your brain. I decided to look into it and found out that your mom died."

"Look into it as in you read my mind?"

"Yup," he said matter of factly.

Tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, you wondered if he managed to read the thought about your feelings for him. "Find out anything else while you were in there?"

Bill blinked in surprise. "No, but the fact that you aren't cursing at me for reading your mind tells me that you really _are_ messed up over this."

"My mom died, Bill. It's something that would affect most people."

"Let me come with you."

Now it was your turn to be thrown for a loop. "What? To the funeral?"

Bill nodded firmly. "If you're this torn up about it I don't think you should go alone." Lifting his hand, he pointed to your dress. "Is it a requirement to wear black? I only have experience with demonic funerals and there's not really a dress code for those."

You were still trying to wrap your head around the fact that Bill wanted to go with you, but the mention of demonic funerals caught you off guard.

"Demonic funerals? I thought demons were immortal. You guys can die?"

The crazed look in Bill's eyes gave you chills. "Only the ones I don't like."

Shuddering, you did your best to compose yourself. "I'm just going to ignore that last statement." Rubbing your neck, your brow furrowed. "I guess there's no harm in letting you come, but don't draw attention to us. My whole family is going to be there and I'm dead, remember?"

"That won't be a problem, kid. I've got this. So about all that black---"

"You can wear whatever you want," you interrupted. "But nothing too flashy."

"Got it," Bill said as he eagerly headed towards his room. "A human funeral! This is so exciting!"

You sighed when you heard his door close. "At least he's happy I guess."

Sitting on the couch, you waited for him to return. Bill probably wasn't the best person to bring along, but you figured it was better than going alone. At least with him there you'd be forced to keep it together.

Once he joined you in the living room there was a literal bounce to his step. "What do you think? I got this outfit from a guy in the states."

He wore dark wash jeans and a nice button up shirt. From the smile on his face you'd think he was going off to school picture day instead of a funeral. 

"Looks great Bill," you said flatly. "Here's a funeral invitation I managed to snag. It'll be starting soon so just transport us to the address."

"No problem," he said. With a snap you were both outside the funeral home.

"Let's get this over with," you said as bravely as you could. You weren't even seated and already you were on the brink of bursting into tears. 

Opening the doors, you told Bill to stay close. Bill could only nod as he looked around in awe.

_Is this a funeral or a field trip for him?_

Taking a seat in the back, you kept your head low and hidden from everyone. The service began rather quickly and you could hear your relatives crying. Some did their best to mask it while others who had been closer to your mother were full on sobbing. 

It felt like your throat was on fire. You began breathing through your mouth as hot tears slowly began to fall. You shouldn't have come here. You couldn't do this.

Just as you were about to wipe down your cheeks, Bill threw an arm around you and practically slammed you into his chest.

"Bill," you whispered while trying to keep your voice steady, "what are you doing?"

He motioned towards the far corner of the room. "That guy was looking at you. I read his mind and he's close to realizing who you are."

Discreetly, you peeked over to who Bill was talking about. Sniffling, you wiped your tears on Bill's shirt. "Fuck, that's my cousin. What do we do?"

"You want to stay for the service, right?"

"Obviously."

"Just stay down there where he can't see you," Bill said while tightening his grip. "I'm sure he'll stop gawking eventually."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then I freeze time and we make a break for it."

Well, maybe bringing Bill along was actually a good thing.

Just as Bill had predicted, your cousin soon lost interest in you and started paying attention to the service. Relieved, you did the same. 

As different family members began to say a few words about your mother you began to cry again. With Bill's chest muffling any noise you made you just let it all out.

Even though you were drenching his shirt, Bill stayed quiet the entire time. You'd occasionally feel him shift his position, but other than that he was completely still.

"Why is everyone getting up? Is it over?"

Taking some time to brush away your tears, you lifted your head. "They're getting one last look at mom before they bury her."

Some stray tears fell before you had the chance to stop them. Bill's eye widened. He had never seen you cry before.

Your hands raced to get rid of the tears. "Pretend you didn't see that."

Bill looked around at the crowd. "You want to see her?"

You nodded. "Yes."

The world around you instantly drained of color. All of your relatives were frozen in place as time stopped.

Standing up, you stiffly walked to the casket. A million thoughts flew through your head, but they were accompanied with the same numb nothingness you'd been feeling for days.

You had no idea how you felt right now. You didn't know if you could handle seeing the body. You didn't know anything anymore. 

Looking at the ceiling, you stopped right in front of the casket. With a deep, shaky breath you lowered your head until your eyes landed on your mother.

As cliched as it sounds, she really did look like she was sleeping. She was dressed in her best outfit and her hair was perfectly styled. Her skin was smooth and flawless, almost like ice.

For a split second you thought about touching her hand, but you decided against it. For just this moment you could trick yourself into thinking she was still here, that she really was sleeping. Touching her cold, dead hand would shatter that illusion.

Once that thought entered your head, you realized you couldn't handle seeing her lowered into the ground.

"Bill, let's head home."

You heard Bill shuffle out of his seat and stand behind you. "She looks pretty well put together for someone who's dead."

The statement didn't even phase you. "Well these places put a lot of effort into making the body look presentable. I imagine she looked a lot worse before they worked on her."

It was weird that you could talk about it so casually. It was almost like you were some kind of teacher explaining things to a curious student instead of a daughter looking down at her mother's body.

"You're experiencing shock. It's helping to block out some of the emotional pain," Bill explained.

"Remind me to yell at you later."

Bill's brow furrowed. "For what?"

You turned to face him. "For reading my thoughts these past few days. Come on, we should get going like I said."

One flash of light later and you were back in Bill's home.

Kicking off your shoes, you sat on the couch. "I'm just going to knock out here. I don't have the energy to move."

Bill tilted his head to the side. "Well that funeral did take up a lot of time. Even I'm feeling tired. Human bodies may be fun but they sure are a lot of hassle."

"You could always go back to being a triangle."

"Where's the fun in that?"

Shrugging, you sprawled out. "All I know is I'm tense, tired, and ready for the void. I think I cried myself out completely."

That last sentence slipped out without you realizing it. Stiffening you did your best to recover.

"But we both agreed to pretend that didn't happen so forget I said anything."

Bill crossed his arms. "I don't recall agreeing to anything. You just _told_ me to pretend."

Your eyes narrowed. "Watch where you tread, Cipher."

"Well, at least you're getting some edge back. Here," he moved so he was sitting on the floor next to you. "If you're really all that tense and stressed I learned a human ritual for relaxation."

Him saying that only brought you more stress as you recalled the last ritual he had performed.

_"Oh yeah," Bill blurted, "I did some research and discovered a thing you humans do before you go to sleep. I think it's called a goodnight...something. I wanted to try it out."_

_"You mean goodnight, sweet dreams?" You stared at him quizzically. "Just say that back and there. You've done it."_

_"Goodnight, sweet dreams," Bill said in an unsure tone. Then, he walked over to the couch and planted his lips on top of yours._

"Whatever it is I don't want it," you said dryly.

"Come on! I'm trying to help!"

"Does it involve our lips touching," you asked suspiciously.

"Nope. No lip touching at all," he said.

You gave him a skeptical look. "Alright, I'll go along with this, but no funny business."

"Geez kid, I'm not trying to paralyze you again. That's not very relaxing. Here, sit up."

Doing as he said, you sat and watched as Bill got into a sitting position behind you. 

"I don't like where this is going," you said.

"Relax, I've seen a bunch of humans do this."

Lifting his hands, he began to rub your neck and shoulders. 

"Shit, that _is_ relaxing," you admitted.

If Bill was going to give you free massages then you needed to get tense more often. He applied the perfect amount of pressure and dissolved every balled up nerve. 

As he moved between your shoulder blades you adjusted your position. "Don't be afraid to really dig in there."

"Got it," he said while applying more pressure. It was nice to have him listening to you without question or objection.

Just as you were beginning to melt away in bliss, you felt a pair of warm lips on your neck.

"Um, Bill? What are you doing?"

"This is part of the ritual. I've seen it a million times like I said."

As his lips continued to brush against your neck you became more aware of his hands and presence behind you.

Alarm bells started going off in your head. "Did you ever stick around to see what happens _afterwards_?"

Bill's lips and hands stopped. "There's an afterwards?"

Alright, so that was a no. You slowly began to feel the tension return to your shoulders. Were you really going to have to explain the birds and the bees to an immortal demon?

"Yes Bill. This kind of stuff is like the...appetizer for the main course."

You nearly smacked yourself. What a stupid way to try to explain foreplay.

"The main course?" You could hear the confusion in his voice.

"That's a lesson for another day," you said while standing up. "Thanks for the uh...relaxation ritual. It really helped."

_Up until it didn't._

"I'm game for more lessons. I want to learn more about this main course."

"Bill. No."

He pouted. "Aww, come on. I was on my best behavior today. I deserve it."

"You're starting to sound like a brat."

"Please?"

Rolling your eyes you decided to take a jab at him. 

"You can't master the main course without getting better at the appetizer."

Bill frowned. "But I did exactly what I've seen other people do! How is that not mastery?"

"Just going through the motions isn't enough. You have to make the other person... _excited_."

Bill's face lit up. "I can get you excited! I'll prove it to you tomorrow!"

The fact that he was so clearly misunderstanding your words made you want to burst out laughing.

"Alright then. Tomorrow. I look forward to it."


	7. Remember

It had been a month since your boyfriend died. You could still remember the scene so vividly: you had just arrived at his house and the two of you were on your way to dinner. As you walked to the car, you saw two men step out of the shadows. Their faces were covered, but something about them felt very... _off_.

You felt your boyfriend tense up beside you. Concern filled you as you tugged on his arm.

"Maybe we should go back insi---"

The sentence had no time to leave your mouth. You heard the unmistakable sound of a gunshot before watching your boyfriend drop to the ground.

You completely froze. Your unblinking eyes watched the warm, red blood begin to gush out of the wound. As he struggled to stay conscious you could tell your boyfriend was trying to tell you _something_ , but the words wouldn't register in your brain. It was like your body and all its senses had completely shut down.

Until one of the men grabbed you. 

His iron grip was enough to snap you out of your stupor. Using all the strength you could muster, you balled up your fist and struck him right in the nose.

The man yelped in pain as his hand released you. Stumbling back, you were able to give one last glance at your boyfriend before you saw the light drain from his eyes entirely.

It took all your willpower to snap your gaze away from that sight, but you knew you had to get away. Just as the second man was making a move to grab you, you ran as fast as you possibly could. 

You could hear them screaming at you to stop, followed by the sound of their guns going off. Terrified, you ducked into someone's driveway and jumped the gate into their backyard.

You waited there for a second to see if they followed you. When you were sure the coast was clear you immediately called the police station and told them what happened. 

The events that took place afterwards didn't feel real. An investigation was started and a funeral was held for your boyfriend. In fact, it was at that very funeral that you began to realize something wasn't adding up.

People you had never met or heard of were there. Some of them were around your age, some of them were much older, but the ones who stood out to you were the ones who were clearly _disturbed_.

They gave eulogies that were no where near the realm of believable. They spoke of ghosts, zombies, and other supernatural occurrences that sounded like fiction. The accounts of your boyfriends life were crazy and you couldn't believe you were the only person at the service who thought those people were out of their minds.

Once the service was over and your boyfriend was put to rest, you were forced to pack your things and move in with some relatives. It was the police department's idea: they still had no clue who had murdered your boyfriend and thought the best course of action was to relocate you for your own safety.

Now, if the cops were so clueless then why did it seem like your boyfriend's family knew exactly what was going on?

Granted, they never said they did, but it was clear that they weren't telling you everything. When they found out what had happened to him the way their eyes danced around nervously made you feel uneasy. When you asked them about it they never gave a straight answer, insisting that you were imagining things and that they needed time to take in his death. 

But if all they needed was to take it in then why did they look so paranoid?

You never had the chance to find out before you were relocated. Not that it mattered. With your boyfriend dead you really had no reason to communicate with his family. The truth was you had never really liked them much, and his passing didn't change that one bit.

Still, their odd behavior ate away at you.

You wanted answers. You wanted to know who those men were, why his family was so secretive, and why the funeral had been so confusing. 

You started digging. You searched up your boyfriend's name along with the other members of his family and what you found was too crazy to be true.

Several articles of the paranormal and supernatural came up, with all the events taking place within a single town. The more you read about each incident the faker it all seemed.

Surely these articles were all made from some hardcore conspiracy fans. They couldn't be real. It was all some kind of cruel joke.

But the fact of the matter was that you still loved your boyfriend. You were willing to do anything to get answers.

And so, against your better judgement, you left your relative's home and drove up to the small town you had read so much about. 

The town itself was nothing to write home about. It was one of those places someone drives through on their way to someplace better. It was a rather plain place.

Plain, until you get a good look at the locals. They seemed normal enough for the most part, but they had a sense of...strangeness attached to them. 

That was all well and good, though. You weren't here to survey the locals. You were here to visit the town hall.

When you arrived at the building it was almost shocking how easy it was to get access to the town's archives. No one questioned or tried to stop you. You had free reign.

Which, it turned out, was both a blessing and a curse. Between newspaper clippings detailing the town's founding and the most recent news of a new sit-in diner, there was a surprising amount of articles to go through.

But you didn't come all this way for nothing.

You spent hours reading and rereading anything that seemed like it might help you find answers. You were taking notes, cross referencing each work, and constructing a timeline for the last few years.

You weren't able to find anything to support the internet's wild stories and claims. In a way it was satisfying to know you had been right about the online articles being pure fantasy, but at the same time you were frustrated that you had wasted your time.

Just as you were getting ready to head out, one small photo caught your eye.

It was of your boyfriend, except he was much younger. He was surrounded by his family and a crowd of people you didn't recognize.

At least, you didn't recognize them at _first_.

If you used a bit of visionary power to age the people in the photo by ten or so years, then you'd be staring at the people who had attended the funeral.

Your eyes widened at your discovery. So all of those insane people were from here. That meant either something in the town's water was making them go mad or something weird had definitely happened here.

Pulling out your notes, you looked back over your timeline. Everything was smooth and coherent, until you got to one summer.

There was a window of time towards the end of the summer that was omitted. Searching through your notes, you found that an act entitled the "Never Mind All That" act was implemented at this time. Someone was clearly trying to hide something.

And that was about the time you felt someone was watching you.

You felt chills rise all over your body. Packing up your notes, you ran out of the town hall and got into your car. As you pulled out of your parking space, you saw a young woman standing a few feet away. 

As you made eye contact with her, she raised her hands and touched her index fingers and thumbs together. When she placed her eye in the center of the triangle she had made, you felt something hit your car.

It was a bird. A _dead_ one.

Retching, you got out of your car to get it off your windshield. That was when you noticed it had a triangle carved into it's stomach.

The air around you became heavy. Clearly this was supposed to be some kind of message, but you had no idea what it meant.

It wasn't like you had much time to think about it, though. From the corner of your eye, you saw two men begin to approach you. 

You immediately recognized them as the men who had killed your boyfriend. Their physique was exactly the same and, although you still couldn't make out their faces, the bone chilling unease they made you feel was a dead giveaway to their identities. 

Jumping back into your car, you jammed your keys in the ignition and stepped on the gas. It took all your willpower to not lose control of the wheel. Your entire body was shaking. 

You knew you should call someone, but you didn't think you'd be able to unlock it with such jittery hands. Besides, everyone who could help you was miles away.

Glancing into the rear view mirror, you saw a black car with tinted windows on your trail. You pressed the gas and hoped they'd give up on following you.

After about an hour or so the car turned away onto a different street. Although you were still shaken, a small amount of tension drained from your body. Clearing your head, you tried to come up with a plan.

There was no way you could go home. If those guys decided to look for you it would put your family in danger. 

You could always try calling the cops, but what good would that do you? In the month that they'd been working on the case they weren't able to find any clues or leads. Besides, you had already decided you couldn't go back to your hometown.

So, as the sun began to set behind some mountains, you sighed and looked up directions to the nearest motel.

In all honesty it was a crappy looking place. It was small; only about five rooms overall. The interior clearly hadn't been cleaned in a long time. But, you were desperate for a place to stay. There was no way you'd be able to drive much further without some rest.

Unbeknownst to you, this would be how you'd spend the next several weeks. Those two men came after you, just as you had feared. They tried to break into your room armed with guns, but you managed to sneak out of the bathroom window without them noticing. 

You got into your car and made a speedy escape while they were still busy trying to pick the room's lock. It was unavoidable at this point; you called the cops and gave them an update on the situation.

They assured you everything was fine and that they would investigate, but as time went on you began to lose your faith in them.

You caught the car you had seen them in following you more than once. You tried everything you could to get them off your tail: going into different cities, taking roads that were hardly ever used. No matter what you did they always found you.

You became somewhat of a motel hopper. They were the only places you could stay on such short notice, and you couldn't stay in any place for very long. Then they'd definitely catch you.

Paranoia began to set in. You didn't want to think about what they'd do if they managed to catch you. All you knew was that you were getting less than an hour of sleep a night and you were scared beyond belief.

The daily calls you made to the cops was the only interaction you got with another human being. You'd tell them your location and they promised to send someone down.

The never arrived before you had to leave again.

As you spend all those weeks traveling, you began to think. These men, whoever they were, left you alone that night they killed your boyfriend. Sure, they tried to grab you, but once you got away they didn't make any moves to follow you.

In fact, everything had been quiet for a month after his death. It wasn't until you traveled to that dinky little town that they found you.

That town. The lack of sleep and paranoia made you forget what it was you had found there. A part of that town's history was being covered up. You never did figure out what it was that they were hiding.

Your muscles tensed and you gasped. That was it. When you discovered pieces of information missing from your timeline, when you stumbled across that strange act, _that_ was when you got the strange feeling that you were being watched. 

It was settled. You had to find out what was erased from those archives. If these men didn't want you to know then it must be linked to something bigger.

You started doing research again. Lord knew you weren't getting any sleep in those motel rooms, so you began looking up more information on the little town and the act.

The research never gave you anything of value. It seemed that the whole incident behind the act was lost in time.

Until you found a strange page in the depths of the internet. 

It was like that supernatural phenomena website you had found a while back, only this one was even _crazier_. It spoke of an all powerful demon, a being capable of taking over universes. 

The website was littered with spells, ancient chants, and what you could only guess were runes and occult symbols. 

Scrolling through the website, you stopped at a particularly striking image. It featured a circle filled with what appeared to be random symbols, and a triangle with an eye was in the center of it all.

"The lady outside the archives," you whispered while staring at the triangle. Maybe she was trying to give you some kind of clue.

You almost wanted to laugh at yourself. How delusional had you become? You were actually starting to believe all this stuff.

But as you heard the unmistakable sound of a window being broken, you had no time to dwell on your deteriorating mental state. 

The events from that time on were a bit of a blur. You remembered getting into your car. You remembered trying to get away from the men following you. You remembered going down an empty road as fast as you could and stumbling out towards the nearby mounds of dirt.

You couldn't think of anything else to do. You needed someone, some _thing_ to help you. Your sweaty hands rushed to draw the symbol displayed on the website. With a trembling voice, you did your best to read the incantation it came with.

Then, a flash of light burst in the sky. The black outline of a triangle slowly sank towards you, and just as it stopped in front of you it gained legs, hands, a top hat, and an eye.

With another flash the being went from black to yellow.

"The name's Bill Cipher. And you are?"

Either all that occult stuff was real or you had truly gone off the deep end.

"Uh---"

"Don't bother answering, I already know who you are, (y/n)."

The triangle, Bill, waved his hand dismissively. It took you a second to compose yourself.

"I read that you're an all powerful being. Is that true?"

Bill laughed. "Did approximately eight people die in the time it took you to say all that?"

As he continued to laugh you felt utterly disturbed. "Look, I'm in a really tight stop. These guys are after me. They have guns," you added in. "They already killed someone precious to me and I don't know who they are or what they want."

"Precious huh?" Bill's form lit up and a series of images flashed through him. "Interesting. Very interesting. I have to admit kid, you've gotten me invested in this situation."

"So you'll help me?"

You looked up at Bill with hopeful eyes. There was finally a way to get yourself out of this mess. You could finally go back to living a normal life. The life you had before everything went south.

"Hold your horses, kid. It's a bit more complicated than that."

You frowned and crossed your arms. "What do you mean? I summoned you so you have to do what I say. Isn't that how this stuff works?"

"Geez kid, for someone who looks so desperate you sure are demanding."

"I do not look desperate!" In all actuality you knew you probably did. Hell, you _were_ desperate. "Look, can you help me or not? I'm kind of pressed for time on this."

"As a matter of fact I can. The thing is we need to strike up some kind of a deal before I can."

You suspiciously eyed the triangular being. "What kind of deal?"

"I'll get rid of your little problem, but in return I want something precious to you."

"Precious to me?" Your face twisted into a ball of confusion. "The most precious thing I had was already taken from me. I'm afraid I don't have anything to give you."

"Let's not be too hasty. Everyone has something to give you know."

The sound of tires screeching against the empty road startled you. You heard two doors slam shut and the sound of footsteps approaching.

"Fuck! I don't have time for this! It's a deal, Bill!"

"Excellent," Bill said while extending his glowing hand towards you. Without hesitation, you took hold of it and shook.

The sensation you felt was unlike any other. It was as if your entire being burst into flame, but instead of burning it felt like you were being frozen.

When the sensation subsided you took a good look around. The men who had been chasing you were dead, but that wasn't what caught your attention. 

Your body did.

"You tricked me!"

You screamed at Bill until your throat was completely tired out. When he said he would take something precious from you you weren't expecting it to be your _life_.

"I didn't do anything. You're the one who agreed to the terms and conditions." Bill looked at you, amusement evident in his eye.

"You rat bastard! Those guys were going to kill me! If I knew you were going to do the same I would have taken my chances with them!"

"Easy there, kid. I told you I'd get rid of your problem and look!" He swept his cane over the bodies of the men. "They're as dead as can be! Completely gone and out of your hair."

"Are you fucking stupid?! What good does that do me if I'm dead too?!"

"Well to be fair I did give you a painless death. Would you have preferred to die from the round of bullets they were so eagerly going to shoot into you?"

"I don't care about that! Give me my life back! This is some bullshit!"

"Am I hearing this correctly? You wanna make another deal?" Bill held a hand up to where you guessed his ear would be.

"Fuck your deals! Bring me back to life!"

"Didn't I tell you before that that isn't how this works?" He rolled his eye. "Gee, you humans sure are slow. I'll tell you what: you get your life back if you can escape me. You have three hours." A blue aura consumed the hand he extended towards you. "Deal?"

You skeptically glanced at his hand. "What happens if I can't do it?"

"Then you stay dead and have to serve me."

Not trusting him to play fair, you were fully prepared to refuse the offer. It was clear to you that you'd most likely fail. You figured it'd be better to spend all of eternity as a free spirit than as some kind of slave.

That is, until you realized you could extend the offer.

"If I win, can I bring someone back with me?"

"You mean your precious person? Yeah, sure, whatever kid. So do we have a deal or not?"

"Three hours to escape you?" You placed your hand in Bill's. "Deal."

And that was what set off the events between you and the demon.


	8. Excite

When Bill said he'd get you excited this wasn't what you had expected. Bright lights, the sound of youthful screams, and the faint smell of food overloaded your senses. Families, friends, and couples surrounded the area in a mixture of smiles and laughs. Everyone was having a great time.

"So? What do you think?" Bill nudged you from the side as he swept his hand at everything surrounding you. "Exciting, right?"

You could only manage a confused nod. "Yeah. Exciting."

Sure, you had left the demon in the dark about the exact meaning of _exciting_ from last night, but a carnival wasn't even on the list of things you'd expect Bill to find exciting. He was more of a gore and torture kind of guy. This all seemed like it would be mundane for him.

"What ride do you wanna go on first kid? Or did you want to try some of the food?" Bill's voice was more animated than usual. It was clear he thought bringing you here was a great idea.

You scrunched up your nose. "Can I even eat?"

Bill nodded. "Yeah, you just don't have to on account of the whole being dead thing."

"Thanks," you muttered dryly. You had come to terms with death a while ago, but were still slightly sensitive when it was mentioned. "Did you even bother to bring money? These things aren't free you know."

"I'm way ahead of you kid," Bill replied. "Check it out. Impressive, right? I already traded some of it in for tickets."

He held out a large wad of cash and you couldn't help the sense of suspicion that crept out from your stomach.

"Where did you get that?"

Bill pocketed the money. "Found it."

"Bullshit. Who did you take it from?"

Bill rolled his eye. "Why do you have to kill the mood? You're supposed to be excited not pouty."

"I am not pouty!"

"Sure kid. Hey, let's go on that!" 

Before you could see what he was pointing to, Bill grabbed you by the wrist and dragged you away. 

"Bill, slow down! You're going to break my hand off!" You freed your hand from his clutches and gently rubbed it. "Jesus Bill, the rides aren't going anywhere." 

"But we have to hurry if we want to go on everything," Bill insisted. "We aren't leaving until you've had the thrill of your life and prove that I can get you excited. Now, pick a horse."

You had been so busy tending to your aching wrist that you hadn't noticed Bill dragged you to the carousel. He handed the worker some tickets and stepped onto the ride. 

"You coming or what," he asked when he noticed your hesitation. You nodded.

"Yeah, sorry. I haven't been on one of these things since I was a kid."

Stepping onto the large platform, you made your way around until you found a nice looking horse. As you mounted it, you saw Bill getting on the bunny directly behind you. 

"I didn't know these things had different kinds of animals! Did you see the dragon back there?" You could hear the grin in his voice. "This ride would be a lot better if these animals were real."

You turned your head and glared at him. "Oh no you don't. Don't you dare magic these things to life."

Overhead speakers began playing upbeat music as the ride began to move.

"Geez kid, you never let me have any fun, but if it makes you feel better I promise not to use any magic while we're here. _Although_ it would be fun to turn these employees into---"

"Bill," you chastised with all the sternness you could muster. You sounded like a mother warning her son that one false move would end with a spanking.

"Alright, alright, I get it."

Trusting him to behave, you turned your attention to the steady rising and falling of your horse. The movement was relaxing. You liked the predictability.

The steady pace lasted about a minute as the ride came to a stop. You dismounted and waited for Bill to get off his bunny.

"I have to admit that was a pretty nice ride. It was nostalgic," you said.

"This was just the appetizer. There's plenty of other rides."

With that, Bill took you over to the pirate ship. The two of you managed to get a seat in the middle and waited for the ride to start.

"Ahoy mateys! All hands on deck!"

"We're going off to find the treasure!"

Two children in front of you were really getting into their pirate role play. One of them even had on a pirate hat.

Smiling, you decided to play along. Clearing your throat, you put on your best pirate accent. "Arg, Captain! What be your orders?" 

Both children looked back at you with shock before large grins spread across their faces. It was clear they hadn't expected anyone to play along.

"Let down the sails! We have to get our treasure back," one of the children ordered.

"Aye aye Captain!"

As soon as the words left your mouth, the ride started. The two kids screamed excitedly with each swing and their father quickly turned around to thank you for playing with them.

"Ready the cannons!"

"Steer starboard!"

The kids were still gushing excitedly even as the ride came to a close. Everyone stepped off the ship and made their way to other rides.

"Those kids were really cute," you commented. "Don't you think so?"

It was only then that you realized Bill wasn't next to you.

"Oh no, this is bad. Bill?" You began calling for him and waited for a response. You didn't hear one.

You had no clue what he could be getting into. What made him wander off all of a sudden?

The panic was just starting to settle in when you heard the kids from before scream in joy. Whipping your head around, you saw them a few feet away jumping around what looked like a treasure chest. 

"We knew there was treasure! We knew it!"

You felt something lean against your shoulder. 

"Any requests for our next ride?" Bill's voice filled the space around you. You were still watching the two kids.

"I don't suppose you had anything to do with that?" You wanted to sound suspicious, but you couldn't help the smile from forming.

"What? Me?" Bill stopped leaning on your shoulder and opted to stand in front of you instead. "'Fraid that's not possible. I'm not allowed to use magic, remember?"

"You're such a liar. How else did that chest full of treasure get there?"

Bill feigned ignorance. "How should I know? Anyone could have gone to the party store and got one of those plastic treasure boxes in two second flat."

"Right. _Anyone_ ," you said sarcastically. "I didn't think you had a soft spot for kids."

"I don't," Bill said matter of factly. From his tone you could tell he was being honest.

The smile you once had was now replaced by confusion. "So then why did you do that for them?"

Bill shrugged. He genuinely didn't seem to know either. "It just seemed like the thing to do."

You were still confused, but didn't want to dwell on it. You looked around until your eyes landed on another ride. "Want to try the tea cups? Those are pretty tame."

Bill eyed the attraction. "You just sit in the cup and the ride moves you around, right? Isn't that the same thing as the carousel?" 

"Kind of, but there's a wheel inside the cup. If you turn it fast enough your cup spins like crazy. It's fun," you explained.

The two of you gravitated towards the ride and waited to be let on. You pointed towards the (favorite color) cup.

"We should go on that one," you said. Bill nodded and as the ride came to a stop and the current riders got off he gave the tickets to the woman manning the ride.

You wasted no time getting into your desired cup. As Bill got into place across from you you placed your hands on the wheel.

"Bet I can make us spin faster than you can," you challenged. Bill raised a brow.

"What's got you all fired up?"

"I used to go on these all the time with my cousins, but they never let me spin the cup because it 'made them too dizzy'." You said the last part in a mocking tone. "So what do you say, Cipher? Accept my challenge?"

Bill didn't even hesitate. His hands flew onto the wheel. "You're on."

The ride started and you used both hands to throw the wheel into a spin. Both you and Bill used slapping motions to try to keep the wheel going as fast as possible, but you saw Bill's hands begin to fall behind. 

"What's wrong? Can't keep up?"

Bill frowned. "I can do more than keep up!"

With that, Bill kicked it into overdrive. The wheel was moving so fast your eyes couldn't keep up. The rapid spinning of the cup made your hair blow in every direction.

You loved it.

"Woooohooo!" You threw your hands into the air and let Bill do the rest of the work. "Faster!"

The cup whirled around in a flurry, but like all good things it had to come to an end. Gradually, everything around you slowed before coming to a complete stop. 

As you exited the cup you placed all your concentration into not falling over. The floor looked like it was sideways and you had no way to orient yourself.

"Seems to me like you were pretty excited back there," Bill said smugly. 

"It _was_ fun, but I don't think this is as excited as I can get," you told him. "Besides, aren't you dizzy? I can barely walk straight."

Bill shrugged. "I feel fine, but it is fun to watch you humans get so disoriented. I mean, check it out."

You surveyed the area and saw at least two people fall over from the dizziness of the tea cups. "You're so sadistic," you said to Bill. "I think I'm getting my sense of balance back. What's next?"

"That looks interesting." Bill nodded his head towards a large structure name The Fun House.

"Huh. I've never actually been in one of those," you admitted. You followed Bill and looked up at the building with awe. It was huge. 

"You coming?"

Snapping your attention back to Bill you nodded. The two of you entered the fun house and immediately started the fist obstacle. The mirror maze.

"So what's the plan? Do we stick together or divide and conquer?" Looking towards Bill, you waited for him to give you the battle strategy. 

"I'll check everything to the left. You take the right."

With that, you were off. You moved carefully through the maze and held your hands out in front of you. With every turn you swept your hands around until you felt the space that wasn't occupied by a mirror. You had to admit, it was harder than you thought it would be.

At this point, you hit a dead end and tried to make your way back. Your reflection covered every space you could see and it was hard to figure out where you had started.

"Bill? Did you find the way out yet?"

"Not yet, but I'm still looking. You would think I'd be better at this considering my whole trickster thing."

Blowing some air in your face, you turned in a random direction. You continued to feel your way around until you found a hallway.

"Hey! I think I found the way out! Come over here!" You waited a few seconds for a reply.

"Where are you? I only see myself!"

"Just follow my voice. Try to get to the middle of the room and work your way up."

After about two minutes Bill came into view. "I really have to give some credit to whoever made this thing. It's a lot more challenging than I--- ow!"

You didn't even try to stop your laughter from coming out. Bill had been so caught up with what he was saying that he ran directly into a mirror. 

Clearly annoyed, Bill rubbed his nose. "Yeah kid, go ahead and laugh it up. Don't be surprised if your workload is suddenly tripled."

Catching your breath, you held out your hand. "What happened to your sense of humor? Come on, just try to find my hand."

Hesitantly, Bill maneuvered his way through the mirrors until his hand found yours. Grabbing onto it, you pulled him towards you. "See? That wasn't so bad."

"We aren't out of the fun house yet," Bill reminded. Stepping forward into the hall, he took the lead.

This new hall was also covered in mirrors, but a different kind. These distorted your reflection into a series of funny, albeit awkward looking, caricatures.

Stopping you examined your appearance in one of them. "Check it out, I'm super lanky." Deciding to be a bit goofy, you struck a pose. "What do you think? Am I model material?"

Bill eyed the reflection before letting out a laugh. "That one makes you look like a model, but _this one_ really captures your true essence."

Turning your head, you looked into the mirror Bill was pointing at. Its waves made you look short and stocky.

You smirked. "Too bad there aren't any mirrors that make people look like doritos. That's _your_ true essence."

Deciding it was time to take charge, you walked past Bill and headed deeper into the fun house. The distorting mirrors lasted for quite a while until they suddenly stopped lining the walls.

"Huh. I guess we're close to the next attraction," you deducted.

Except you were wrong. The once straight hall turned into a curved on that seemed to go on forever. At first you thought there was a game or something hidden within the hall, but closer examination showed that it was just a regular old hall.

"This doesn't make sense. Why would there be such a long stretch between the mirrors and whatever's next?"

Bill shrugged. "Budget cuts?"

Huffing, you continued through the hall. "The next thing we encounter better be good."

You went through two more curved turns before reaching a wall made of reflective streamers.

"These people sure do like their reflective products," Bill commented. 

You placed a hand on your hip. "All that walking for a wall of streamers. Let's go this over with."

Grabbing a handful of streamers, you pushed them to the side and walked through, only to be met with more streamers.

"This wall is thicker than I thought it would be," Bill said. You nodded in agreement and ventured forward.

An array of streamers tickled your face as you continued to walk forward. "Do you think something's gunna pop out at the end," you asked Bill. "I'm really not a fan of jump scARES!"

The last bit of the word came out in a scream as you felt the floor beneath you suddenly come to a stop. You fell for a quick second before landing on something soft. Behind you, you felt Bill fall as well.

"Alright, where did the floor go?" You looked around and picked up one of the items that broke your fall. "A red ball?"

"Those streamers must have been up so people wouldn't be able to see the drop into this ball pit," Bill reasoned.

Turning around you saw there was indeed a drop into the pit you were currently in. "I can understand wanting the element of surprise, but this was a bit much."

"It's all part of the thrill," Bill dismissed. "Nothing to get worked up about."

The two of you crawled towards a platform on the other side of the ball pit and continued your journey. The next obstacle was a set of alternating steps moving upwards that lead to a spinning tunnel.

When both of you managed to get through the tunnel without falling, you were greeted by a machine blasting you with a sudden gust of hot air.

"Fuck!" It caught you so off guard that you latched onto Bill's arm. "I knew it! I knew there would be a jump scare somewhere!"

"Easy kid, it's just some hot air," Bill said.

"That's not the point." Removing yourself from Bill, you realized you had made it to the top of the fun house. Looking around, your eyes landed on something in the corner. 

"Guess this is our way down," you said as you stood in front of a steep, winding slide. "See you at the bottom."

You threw yourself down the slide head first. Once you reached the bottom you waited for Bill.

"I think I know what I want to do next," you told him.

"And what's that?" 

"The true staple of any carnival experience. Stuff our faces with food and then go on the biggest roller coaster this place has to offer."

Bill tilted his head. "Is that peak excitement?"

"For a place like this? Definitely."

The first stop was a cotton candy stand. Bill went absolutely crazy over the stuff, so much so he almost entered a manic state. You physically had to drag him away from the stand.

Next, the two of you ordered some corn dogs. Nothing said carnival like a bunch of deep fried goodies.

After that, you went for another carnival must-have. Meat on a skewer. 

For the better part of an hour the two of you guzzled down anything that caught your eye. When there was no room for anything else, you knew you were ready to take on the roller coaster. 

"Alright, so this is the best and worst game to play at these types of things," you explained. "Once everyone has eaten to their limit you go on the roller coaster. Last one to vomit wins."

"And you humans do this kind of thing all the time? I love it! Can't wait to see what this body of mine can endure," Bill said with a glimmer of madness in his eye.

"Easy there. Don't get too excited or you'll push all the food out of your guts before we even get on the ride. Normally it would take a couple rides for everyone to puke, but I hear this roller coaster is pretty intense. We might not even make it through one round."

The line for the attraction was a long one. It took forty minutes just to get to the front, but once it was your turn you were ready.

You got in a seat towards the back and Bill fell into place beside you. "It's not too late to back out," you told him with an edge to your voice.

"Please, I revel in this kind of stuff. You don't stand a chance against me," he countered.

"Don't forget that you aren't in your best physical shape. With that human body of yours we're on a level playing field and I have years of experience under my belt."

Before he could reply, the ride surged forward. The slow ascent began and you could feel the excitement and thrill building up in the pit of your stomach.

"This thing has four loops, a corkscrew, bow tie, a flying snake dive---"

"Weren't you the one who said not to get too excited," Bill asked while cutting you off. "Just enjoy the ride."

Once he finished his sentence, the roller coaster dropped off its peak and flung everything into full swing.

The screams of the other riders filled your ears as your voice joined them. You felt like you were going to be thrown out of your seat from the sheer force of the ride. That feeling was multiplied when you hit the first corkscrew.

This was when you heard Bill lend his voice to the screaming crowd. The ride continued to jet along the track and you saw a hat fly off someone's head.

"And so it's begun! Possessions are flying!" You announced as the series of loops commenced. "You feel like you're going to lose anything Bill?"

From the corner of your eye you saw him shake his head. "There's no way I'm losing my lunch before you!"

The ride began to go faster and the wind suddenly picked up. Your hair flew into your face and you couldn't see a thing.

Reaching up, you swept it out of your eyes in time to see a sharp turn coming. 

"Shit!" You felt your shoulder dig into the restraints. It hurt for a brief second, but the adrenaline pumping through you dulled the pain.

As the ride continued, you felt your stomach churn. You weren't going to last much longer.

To your credit, you made it through another series of loops without losing it, but when the roller coaster flung you upside down you couldn't hold back anymore. 

"Oh god! Oh fuck!" Everything you had eaten spilled out at once and you felt like you were going to die.

You vaguely heard Bill let out a holler of victory, but you were too busy emptying your stomach's contents to listen. He had won fair and square and you were suffering the consequences. 

After an agonizing eternity, the ride finally stopped. You got out of your restraints in a sluggish, zombie like frenzy. As you stepped off the roller coaster you almost wanted to kiss the ground beneath you.

"Looks like I won kid," Bill said smugly.

"Fuck off." Shakily, you wiped your mouth and faced Bill. You were ready to chew him out, but the gradually graying color in his face shut you up. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."

"My stomach and throat feel weird, but I'm pretty sure it'll go away."

"Bill, you're going to throw up. There's a trashcan over there you can use."

Bill rolled his eye. "I can handle a few twists and turns. I'm going to be fine."

There was a split second where you believed that he might be able to keep it together, but it was thrown out the window as soon as his eye grew wide and he hunched over.

He threw up all over the floor. The sight of it was enough to activate your gag reflex and nearly send you into a vomiting frenzy. Still, you choked it down and waited for him to finish.

"That...has never...happened before," Bill said in between gasps. Standing up straight, you saw the mania surging through him. "It was incredible."

"If you say so." Turning away from his gaze you cracked a smile. "You know I had my doubts about today, but you did manage to get me pretty excited a few times. I'd say your mission was a success."

"Of course it was. I'm a genius."

"I'm complimenting you. Don't ruin it." You began to walk back towards the front of the carnival. "Besides, we should probably start heading out. The sun's going down and after that last ride I'd say I'm ready to wrap this up."

Before you could continue, Bill grabbed your arm. "Do you hear that?"

You raised a brow. "Hear what?"

"Water. It's coming from over there."

Bill pulled you in the direction of the water before you had time to protest. After a few feet you began to hear it, too.

And then it came into view. The Tunnel of Love.

You felt yourself tense up as an old memory came rushing back.

_"Come on (y/n), it'll be fun!"_

_You gave the ride a skeptical look. "Aren't these things a little cliche? Besides, I don't even want to think about what some people have done in those swan boats."_

_"I'm sure they clean them. Besides, you're my girlfriend aren't you? Can't you go on for me?"_

_The way he stared at you like a sad puppy broke you. "Alright, but we're going on the bumper cars after this."_

You felt yourself turn cold. You really didn't want to go on this ride.

"Kid? You okay?" You could feel Bill eyeing you. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." You mentally shook yourself. "So, now that you know where the water was coming from can we go?"

Bill let go of your arm. "It looks interesting. I want to ride it."

"Everything looks interesting to you. Alright, get your jollies. I'll wait for you here."

Bill frowned. "You should come, too. Riding is more fun with another person."

You shook your head. "I'm not going on. We can go on anything else, but not that."

Bill tilted his head curiously. "Why?"

You felt the frustration beginning to build up. Why did this ride have to catch his attention? Why couldn't he just go on himself?

"I just don't want to ride it!" You angrily snapped at him. "Isn't there any other thing we could go on?"

Bill clicked his tongue. "You don't have to be so testy. It's not like I'm asking for much. Just one lousy ride and then we can go."

"You know what? Fine. We go on the stupid ride and then we go home." Marching forward, you got into line.

"I don't understand you. You were having a good time," Bill complained while getting behind you.

"That was before you dragged me here," you spat.

"Uh-oh, couples quarrel. Don't worry, this should fix things." The man in charge of the ride opened the nearest swan and let you on. 

"We aren't a couple," you corrected him while taking your seat. You could tell from the look on his face that he didn't believe you. As soon as Bill stepped inside he closed the door and sent you two on your way.

_"Does this thing go any faster?" You looked down at the water the swan lazily drifted on. It felt like you were moving at a snails pace and the music they had playing was awful. It tired way too hard to set the mood._

_"You do know that these are meant to be calm and romantic, right? Fast doesn't exactly fit into that equation."_

_Smirking, you used your hand to tousle his hair. "It fits into *my* equation."_

_Chuckling, he placed an arm around you and slid you closer to his side. "Well then, I guess I'll have to tutor you until you can get the math right."_

Chills ran up your body. While it wasn't an exact replica, the boat and music playing overhead were similar enough to make you feel uneasy. You didn't want to be here. You wanted to be anywhere else.

_I want him to hold me._

The thought entered your mind and made you keenly aware of how cold you were. You had to fight the urge to shiver as you fixed your gaze on the water splashing along the bottom of the swan. You hadn't thought about these memories in a long time and you didn't like the effect they had on you. 

Forcing the memories away, you tried to convince yourself everything was fine. After all, this was only a ride. 

As the swan rounded a corner, you felt an arm wrap around you. Your shoulders tensed and you faced Bill.

"What are you doing?"

"You wanted to be held," Bill replied nonchalantly. 

It was at that point that you knew he had read your mind, but instead of the usual anger that came with it, you felt numb.

"What else did you see?"

Bill blinked. "What do you mean?"

You gestured to your head. "You were in there. Did you see anything else?"

Bill shook his head. "Nope. If I'm being completely honest I wasn't even trying to read your thoughts. You just wanted to be held so much that it was as if you had said it out loud."

"Well that's embarrassing," you groaned. Thankfully, Bill let the subject drop.

As the swan sailed back to where you started, the man running the ride smiled. 

"See? This ride can fix even the most broken of relationships."

Stepping out of the swan, you addressed him. "We really aren't together, though."

"That's not what it looked like to me," he said with a wink.

Rolling your eyes, you walked away from the ride with Bill on your heels.

"Thanks for the day out. It was nice," you said. Despite everything that happened because of the love tunnel, you really had to give Bill credit. He did show you a good time.

"What can I say? I'm a crowd pleaser."

A small chuckled worked its way out of you and before you could stop yourself you hugged him.

"Uh, kid?" The move caught him off guard. He was silent for a second before speaking up. "I don't get it. I'm trying to pick up on your emotions aren't really sad or happy. Just kind of...neutral."

You broke the hug. "Why are you trying to gauge my emotions?"

"To figure out why you're acting so," he waved his hand around while trying to come up with the right word, " _passive_."

You placed a hand on your hip. "What? Am I supposed to be headstrong and assertive 24/7?"

"No, it's just that this sort of thing doesn't happen very often. You hugging me out of no where isn't exactly part of our normal formula."

Reaching up on your toes, you tousled his hair. "Maybe you need to review the reaction sheet more."

Bill's brow furrowed. "What's a reaction sheet? And why are you messing up my hair?"

Your breath caught when you realized what you were doing. Settling back on your heels, you withdrew your hand.

"Nothing, forget it."

_He's not him._

The cold feeling from before returned with full force. 

"It's cold." You couldn't stop yourself from saying it.

Bill looked up at the sky. "It's summer. How is it cold?"

You couldn't bring yourself to respond. You just stared at the ground until you felt fabric being draped on you.

Upon closer inspection, you realized it was Bill's blazer. Before you could question it, Bill wrapped a hand around your waist and pulled you close.

"Warm yet?"

His questioned knocked some sense back into you. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Let's get home. There's some work I need to catch up on."

You nodded as Bill lead you away from the crowds. Without thinking, your body leaned into his as you felt the warmth return to your form. 

Despite not understanding your feelings, Bill did what he could to make you feel better. He had been doing that a lot recently.

He was the one who helped you come to terms with being dead. He helped you get through your mother's funeral. Hell, even that time he had royally pissed you off at church he did everything he could to gain your forgiveness.

Whether he realized it or not, Bill was a sweet guy. He had his faults and more often than not he messed things up, but the fact that he was trying to get a hang of human norms was endearing.

_He's not him._

The though entered your mind again, but this time with less foreboding. Bill _wasn't_ him, and you were okay with that. 

You _liked_ Bill.

The first time you realized your feelings for him you had no time to do anything about them before your mother passed away. Now they were starting to resurface.

"Bill? I decided I want to do something for you."

"Really? What?"

You shook your head. "I'm not too sure myself, but I'll figure something out. Give me a few days."

Swallowing down the nervous lump in your throat, you placed your hand over the one Bill had on your waist. Lacing your fingers together, you felt Bill look down at you.

"Are your hands cold, too?"

"Something like that."

You were going to confess to him.


	9. Deal

Yesterday had really taken a lot of energy from Bill. He was still out cold. Come to think of it, you rarely ever saw the demon sleep. His human vessel could only take so much.

But that was all well and good. It gave you time to prepare your... _speech_. That's right, your speech. If you so much as dared to think of it as a confession you were sure you'd lose your nerve at the last possible moment.

Lord knew you couldn't have that. You had avoided your feelings for far too long. There was no time to doubt yourself.

And so, ironically, in order to stop avoiding your feelings you had to push them aside and think logically. You had to get Bill to sit down and hear you out, and you had to say everything you felt without devolving into a complete and utter mess.

As pathetic as it sounds, you started writing out a list. Each bullet point was a key point in your speech and you had to make sure it all flowed together.

_God damn, why am I so fucking stupid when it comes to this feelings crap?_

The sight of a grown woman furiously jotting down three word sentences on paper hardly seemed sane. Hell, maybe you were actually losing your mind. It made as much sense as anything else.

Tears involuntarily welled in your eyes as you realized how similar this situation was to the one before it. You took a quick second to wipe your eyes. There was no time to dwell on the past.

You made a few minor adjustments to your list until you were satisfied with the results. It honestly looked like a TED talk.

"Well, at lest he'll get the long winded point," you said to yourself. Bill was more of a thinking man himself. You were sure he'd understand this a lot better than a traditional confession.

"Shit, I've done this much. I should buy a laser pointer and make a powerpoint to go along with it," you joked aloud. It never hurt to laugh at yourself.

You rehearsed in the living room for hours. In that time, there was more writing and rewriting than you ever thought was humanly possible. It wasn't until you heard shuffling from upstairs that you put your pencil down.

Nerves began to get to you as you heard Bill approach. Sweaty, clammy hands gripped your list as the demon came into view.

His hair was a mess and he had a few dark circles under his eye. It was obvious he had slept in his clothes; they were wrinkled beyond belief.

Clearing your throat, you stood up as straight as you could.

"Bill? I need you to sit down for a second."

The demon's gaze lazily registered you. "Why? You want a raise or something?"

You could feel your heart beating faster. "You don't even pay me."

"I know, it's a small joke," he said with a yawn. "I was on my way to pick up one of those earthly energy drinks, so can we make this quick? My body feels like it's melting."

"It wouldn't feel like that if you actually took care of it," you lectured. "But fine, I'll try to make this go as quickly as possible. No promises though."

Bill eyed you with suspicion, but he walked over to the couch and had a seat.

"Something feels off about you," he said as he continued to stare.

"Yeah, well, you'll find out why in a second." Taking a deep breath, you got ready to let it all out.

"Bill, when we first met I had no idea what I was getting into. I was a scared, paranoid mess and had no one else to turn to."

"Uh huh," Bill's brow creased. "Go on."

"When you took my life and then took me as a servant I hated you. I felt betrayed and angry and just...defeated," you shook your head at the memory. "I thought I had finally truly lost everything."

"But then," you continued, "you made me go to that demon party. It was a miserable time, until you showed up with a new human vessel. I still didn't trust you, but seeing another human form in this crazy mess of a dimension felt comforting. And when we danced together I actually had fun," you admitted. "That's when I started warming up to you."

You were about to mention the kiss he had given you that night, but for some reason the words caught in your throat. You still weren't ready to talk about it.

"And that made me a bit confused. I mean, you were someone I was supposed to hate, right? But it was like everything slowly started to change after that night. Remember that day you found me at the church? I was trying to figure out what was wrong with me. Why I suddenly felt different about you."

You looked at Bill to see if you could catch a reaction from him. So far, nothing.

"And then you really made me mad and I thought that the night of the party was just a fluke and you really were a horrible person, er, demon," you corrected. "But then you tried to make it up to me for weeks and you actually helped me come to terms with my death. It really felt like you were becoming my friend."

This was it. The moment you had been preparing for.

"Except, you started to feel like more than just a friend. I really started to enjoy our time together and seeing you everyday made me happy. I liked showing you all the small things that came along with friendship, but in the end that amiable nature turned into something else. Something I was too scared to admit and something I never got the chance to admit because of what happened to my mom."

You could feel your throat closing up at the mention of your mother. You had to be strong.

"You went to the funeral with me and gave me a chance to see her one last time. You even tried to help me relax afterwards." You let out a small chuckle. "You, doing something nice for me. Guess I was a pretty good friendship teacher after all."

You had to get back on track. "Anyways, my feelings only grew stronger yesterday at the carnival. I had a really good time and it was that last ride that made everything come together."

Bill was watching you curiously. It was time.

"Bill, the bottom line here is that I like you. Romantically," you clarified. "I'm not sure if you can really understand that, but I had to let you know."

Biting your lip, you timidly looked at Bill. His head tilted to the side.

"Romantically? I've heard of the concept before, but I've never really gotten into it," he said.

As his words registered in your mind, you felt something beginning to bubble in your throat. It came out as a small giggle at first, but then it turned into full blown roaring laughter, before finally turning into tears.

The hot tears slid down your face as you continued to laugh. You weren't sure if you were happy or sad.

"God Bill, you're so fucking stupid."

The demon could only watch as you tried to control yourself. It was clear he had no idea what was going on.

Catching your breath, you stopped laughing and wiped down your cheeks. Of course Bill wouldn't understand this. It wasn't in his realm of sadistic pleasure.

"This wasn't exactly how I pictured this going, but thanks for hearing me out," you said while looking down at your feet. You couldn't face him.

"Are you okay kid? You're really coming unhinged," Bill observed. "If you want I could go out and figure out what this whole 'romantically liking' someone thing is."

"You'd do that?"

"Sure! It'd actually be pretty easy. I'd just have to go inside someone's mind and see if I can find anything about it in their memories," Bill explained. "It's a simple operation: in and out in a flash!"

Your gaze slowly rose from the floor. "If someone is willing to give you the information, would it be easier to find the memories?"

Bill nodded. "Yup! They'd pretty much just line up for me at that point."

"Interesting. Alright, I'm convinced. Use me."

A bit of color drained from Bill's face. "What?"

"I want you to use my memories to understand what it is I'm trying to tell you. I've already made it this far. Might as well see it all the way through." The resolve in your voice was undeniable.

"Hmm, strange. I always thought the chance to go into your mind would be exciting, but it's actually a little unnerving. From day one you've made it clear you didn't want me in there and now you're inviting me in." Standing up, Bill walked over to you. "Still, I like your moxie, kid."

You waited for a few seconds, but Bill continued to stand in front of you.

"Well? What are you waiting for?"

All the color surrounding you became a murky grey as Bill's human form collapsed at your feet. Jumping back, you did your best not to freak out.

"Jesus Bill, what the fuck!" The lifeless body in front of you sent you into shock. It was a disturbing sight.

A bright light hovered above the body and it quickly took on a triangular shape. Arms, legs, a bow tie, top hat, and eye popped onto the triangle as it took a yellow coloring. 

It had been an eternity since you'd last seen Bill's true form.

"Oh boy, it feels good to be back! I feel like a whole new me!" Bill's laughter filled the house and you shivered. He commanded so much more power in his true form.

"Was all this really necessary?" You inched away from the body on the ground.

"Yup! Going into someone's mind is serious stuff! There's one more order of business we have to take care of before I get to go exploring!"

You eyed him suspiciously. "And that is?"

Bill's hand took on a familiar blue glow. "You'll let me inside your mind and in return I'm going to come out with knowledge about these 'romantic feelings'. Deal?"

You took the demon's hand and shook. "Deal."


	10. See

As Bill descended into (y/n)'s mind his entire being itched with manic pleasure. He loved the sensation of having complete control. He felt like he was truly starting to get back to his roots. How long had it been since he last ventured through a human mind?

As soon as he asked himself that question, an awful memory came surfacing back. Bill's eye narrowed into a deadly stare. 

_Oh, right_. It had been _that_ long since the last time. The time that nearly destroyed him for all eternity. 

Bill turned a deep red. The mere thought of those people made him lose his temper. If it wasn't for his loyal following there was no way he would have been able to recover from what that wretched family did to him. He hated them. He wanted them dead. No, worse than dead.

The thoughts of revenge trickling in Bill's mind were almost all consuming, but he managed to snap himself out of it. He could think about them later. For the time being, he had a job to do.

Turning his attention back to the matter at hand, Bill had to admit he was impressed. (Y/n)'s mind was well organized; the doors were lined up perfectly and it even looked like she had made a chronological order for him to follow. How sweet of her!

He reveled in chaos, so it was refreshing to see some organization for a change. "I guess all that stuff people say about a woman's touch it true. This place looks great!" Bill took one last moment to admire the space before opening the first door.

A younger version of (y/n) was sitting on a small bunk bed. Her brow was creased and her pencil was flying across the paper in her lap.

"Ugh no, that sounds terrible!" She balled up the paper and threw it on the ground. From what Bill could see she had done this quite a few times. There was a small mountain of balled up paper everywhere.

"I don't get why you have to make a list. Just talk to him before class tomorrow. The professor is always late anyways so it gives you some time."

There was a bored looking girl sitting above (y/n) on the top bunk. Her voice was matter of fact and Bill could tell things like this happened all the time.

"I can't just talk to him without figuring out what I'm going to say! Do you want me to humiliate myself?" (Y/n) shook her head. "You're the worst roommate ever. It's like you want me to crash and burn."

Bill hummed in satisfaction and shut the door. That was enough of that. It was time for him to move on to the next door.

(Y/n) was in the middle of a conversation with someone, but that person's back was facing Bill. He couldn't get a good look at them.

"Shit, I'm sorry for being so weird and awkward about this, but I like you," (y/n) finished in a frazzled rush. "I know I should have just said that from the beginning instead of rambling on but...yeah."

The boy she was talking to laughed. "Don't worry, I do that sort of thing too. Actually I'm kind of relieved that you told me. It saves me from having to do it first."

Bill's eye widened. Something about that voice seemed _very_ familiar. He could feel a small amount of rage starting to bubble up.

But when he saw (y/n)'s face light up with joy the anger subsided.

"Wait, seriously? You like me?"

The boy nervously shuffled around. "Well, yeah. You're a really good person and you're smart and pretty and you smell really nice and---" he looked away shyly and cleared his throat. "Sorry, almost got carried away there."

(Y/n) gave a teasing smile. "Don't sweat it, I love hearing about myself."

"So does this mean you'll go out with me or...?"

Stepping forward, (y/n) gave the boy a hug. "Duh. What else would it mean, genius?"

Bill quickly shut the door. Something about this memory ate away at him. He had to move on.

He skipped the next couple of doors and went to one that looked promising. To his surprise, he hesitated to open it.

"What's wrong with me? I'm having an off day," he complained. Grabbing the doorknob, he roughly jerked the door open.

(Y/n) stepped out of a photo booth and retrieved the pictures she had taken. She peeked back through the curtain, only giving Bill a view of her back.

"Are you coming out or what?"

Bill heard the boy from the last memory grunting from inside the booth. "My jacket got caught on something. I think I'm stuck."

(Y/n) ducked her head out, once again giving Bill a full view of her. "It's for the best I guess. I want to take another set of pictures. I look so stupid in the third one."

Bill heard another series of grunts before the boy answered. "The third one? Isn't that the one with me kissing you?"

Kissing? Bill had to figure out what they were talking about. He levitated his form until he was high enough to look over (y/n)'s shoulder. Her thumb was covering the boy's face, but he could clearly see that their lips were touching in the picture.

"Yes, and it completely caught me off guard! I look like a fish that was thrown out of it's tank," she complained. "Let's take another set of photos where I'll be ready."

It was at this moment where Bill was utterly confused. The lip touching was reminiscent of the goodnight, sweet dreams paralysis ritual he had performed on (y/n) all that time ago, but she wasn't paralyzed at all in this memory.

Then again, she did look shell shocked in the picture. Maybe the ritual had different results depending whether or not the person was expecting it?

Closing the door behind him, Bill moved on. This romantic feeling junk was a lot more complicated than he thought.

Drifting through the line of doors, he was surprised to see one was slightly cracked open. Curiosity got the better of him as he nearly threw the door off its hinges to get a look.

"I can't believe it's been a year," (y/n) whispered in awe. She was dressed up rather nicely. It was the fanciest Bill had ever seen her.

"I know, it's pretty amazing. I love you," the boy replied. Once again, Bill's view of him was obstructed, this time by the centerpiece of a neighboring table.

"I love you too."

(Y/n) rose from her seat and reached across the table. From the little Bill could see, it was obvious the boy was also leaning in. 

A waiter walked by just as their lips touched in a _kiss_. Well, at the very least Bill was learning new terminology.

Bill continued on his quest of discovery. He found memories of (y/n) and the boy at the park, the movies, spending holidays together, having study dates. Every memory obscured the boy in one way or another, and his voice continued to drive Bill mad. 

Still, Bill thought he was beginning to understand what (y/n) had been telling him. Each memory he went through had her looking at the boy in a peculiar way. Almost as if he was everything to her.

Was that all there was to romantic feelings? Having someone who holds your universe together? Well, if that was the case she should have just said so!

He was sure he'd found the answer. Considering everything that he'd seen it was the only explanation.

Just as he was getting ready to leave, a strange noise wafted towards him. It was unlike anything he'd ever heard before.

His interest was piqued. He followed the strange mewling as it lead him deeper into (y/n)'s mind. The further he got, the more obvious it became that he wasn't supposed to be this far out. Several doors had the words _private_ and _do not enter_ carved into them. 

But Bill was too invested in the noise to care about those warnings. No one was around to stop him either way. He'd just take a quick peek and be done with it.

After a bit more searching, Bill found the door. It was hidden in a dark corner, obviously to prevent anyone from finding it. 

Bill felt his hands itch with anticipation. (Y/n) knew he was going in her mind. She _purposefully_ hid this door. He _had_ to know what was inside.

He decided to drink the moment in a bit. He continued to listen as the noises got louder. It honestly sounded like someone was whimpering out in pain at first, but the closer Bill listened the more he heard the real sensation behind the whimpers.

_Pleasure_.

Bill listened even harder. There was heavy breathing and a strange, rhythmic slapping noise. Then, someone else's pants and grunts joined in.

He couldn't take it anymore. He needed to know what was going on. Curling his hand against the knob, Bill turned and pulled it open.

The door lead to a dark room. A large mound of blankets shifted forward and backwards on a bed. The noises from before were even louder now that the door was open.

He couldn't see anything, not even (y/n). He moved every which way he could, but no amount of angling or height gave him a view of anything other than the moving blankets.

Until the blankets were tossed to the side.

Bill nearly unleashed every bit of his cosmic power at that moment. Dipper Pines was on top of (y/n), sweaty and without a shred of clothing. His gaze was fixed on her, eyes half lidded and a gentle smile on his face.

Meanwhile, (y/n)'s hair was messily sprawled out on the bed. Dipper's body was covering her, but Bill could still see the way her eyes locked on his. She returned his smile and used her hand to guide down his face until they kissed.

The sight of it all made Bill lose it. Dipper Pines was _enjoying_ himself. He was _happy_. His _mortal enemy_ was _happy_.

Bill slammed the door shut with all the strength he had.

"ENOUGH!"

Bill grew about ten sizes and his body turned a bright, menacing red. He flung himself out of (y/n)'s mind and breathed in and out with a rage that he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

Below him on the living room floor, (y/n) slowly began to wake up.

"I feel like I have to worst hangover of my life," she complained. Lifting her head, she got a good look at Bill in his rage filled glory.

"Shit! Bill what are you doing?!"

He could tell that she was scared. She had never seen him like this before.

"What am _I_ doing? _WHAT AM I DOING_?"

Screaming, Bill pointed a finger at the couch, which immediately disintegrated. Gasping, (y/n) crawled away towards the wall.

"Calm down! What's gotten into you?!"

"He! You!"

A series of images flashed through Bill's body, but they went by too fast for (y/n) to catch. 

" _AHHHH_!"

Bill let out one more angry scream before his hands flew up to cover the space where his ears would be. In a blinding flash of light, he disappeared.

(Y/n) stayed on the living room floor, frozen in fear. What got Bill so upset?

What did he see?


	11. Dream

You didn't get much sleep that night, or the night after that. In fact, you found yourself staring up at the ceiling several nights in a row. It was starting to take its toll on you.

Bill still hadn't returned home and, with no magic of your own, you had no way to hop between dimensions to try to find him. All you could do was sit and wait.

The lack of agency made you crazy. You wanted to search for him. You had to make sure he wasn't out there doing something crazy. You needed to do something productive so it wouldn't feel like you were just wasting the days away. At the very least, you wanted to get away from the corpse in the living room. 

It was unnerving, knowing it was just you and that lifeless husk in the house. Every time you walked into another room you swore you saw shadows following you from the corner of your eyes. You were restless and nothing could help you relax.

Not to mention the fact that the reason behind Bill's rage was still eating away at you. The memories you had him look into weren't bad, at least not in your opinion. What got such a reaction out of him?

The more you thought about it, the less sense it made. You could understand if Bill came out of the situation slightly confused, but what actually ended up happening was far too strange. It didn't matter how many times you recounted your life; you couldn't find a single thing from your past that would warrant his anger.

Spending all this time alone with your own thoughts was absolute hell. You needed someone to talk to. You were driving yourself mad.

Dark circles began to form under your eyes. It honestly looked like you had two giant bruises under your eyes. Your skin looked sickly and pale and your body was beginning to twitch and shake involuntarily. 

You needed to get some sleep.

Settling down, you began to watch the ceiling and prayed tonight was the night your body would exhaust itself into sleep. Your eyes lazily flicked between different corners of the room until you began to feel them droop down. Your breathing slowed and became deeper. Slowly, but surely, your body began to sink into the mattress beneath you. Your eyes finally closed and everything went black.

_You were walking through a large field of grass. In the distance, you could see several families playing games and barbecuing. Everyone looked happy; it was some kind of holiday._

_Continuing your walk, you veered to the left, going towards a clearing between two groups of trees. From there, you could see smoke beginning to form. The smell of burnt wood wafted to you and you took a deep breath. It was relaxing._

_As you made it to the clearing, four people were sitting by the fire with their backs turned to you._

_"Oh, you guys got a fire going? Guess I brought this for nothing."_

_You pulled some flint out of your pocket. Even though it wasn't needed, you decided to hold onto it just in case the current fire went out._

_All four people turned towards your voice. You went and took a seat next to Dipper, who casually wrapped an arm around you._

_"Pft, flint. Kids these days always want to take the easy way out," Stan complained. "Back in my day we started fires the good old fashioned way."_

_Dipper's brow creased. "But Grunkle Stan, you started this fire with a lighter."_

_Stan looked away, clearly offended. "Yeah, well, I'm getting older. It's okay for me to take the easy way out. You young people have no excuse, though."_

_"Well the important thing is we have fire. I'll start grilling the hot dogs," Ford said. Mabel eagerly volunteered to help._

_Meanwhile, Dipper nudged your side. "What took you so long? You left to get that flint ages ago."_

_"Have you seen how full that parking lot is? I was going around in circles trying to find my car," you sighed and pecked his lips. "Honestly I'm a little pissed I spent so much time searching when Stan had a lighter the whole time. He should have said something before I left."_

_"I'm sure he just forgot," Dipper defended. "Besides, you're here now, right?"_

_He turned your bodies so you were both facing each other. Without hesitating, he caught your lips with his._

_Your arms wrapped around his neck while he placed his hands on your hips. Opening your mouth, you let Dipper twine his tongue with yours. The action made you hum in satisfaction. You slowly leaned into his chest._

_"Woah, get a room you two!"_

_Mabel's voice made you jump back. She was behind you, carrying a bag of uncooked hot dogs. Dipper looked away, a blush evident on his face._

_"Mabel," Dipper whined. "Don't do that."_

_"Oh come on bro bro, don't tell me *this* has you embarrassed after what I heard last night."_

_You lifted a brow and stared at Mabel. "What are you talking about?"_

_"Dipper's guest room is directly underneath the master bedroom." Mabel smiled teasingly. "*Directly* underneath." Lifting her arm, she gave Dipper's back two strong pats. "Good job by the way."_

_"Mabel!"_

_Dipper's head shot up and you could see his entire face was cherry red. Laughing, Mabel ran off in a random direction. As she disappeared from sight, you pursed your lips._

_You had spent the night at Dipper's house. That could only mean one thing._

_"Why didn't you tell me Mabel slept over last night?!" You could feel your cheeks burning. You were going to kill him._

_"I'm sorry! She came by when you were in the shower. I was going to tell you when you got out but, well," he looked away and cleared his throat. "I could tell you wanted it and you looked so good with your wet hair sticking to your skin. To make it worse, all you had on was that towel. Dang it (y/n) I can only take so much! I got lost in the moment and forgot all about Mabel being there."_

_You buried your head in your knees. Mabel would never let you hear the end of this._

You jolted awake. It took you a second to register your surroundings, but when you did you let out a breath of relief. 

Why did you have a dream about that day with Dipper's family? The last thing you needed was to relive the humiliation of knowing Mabel had heard you and Dipper having sex.

You groaned as that very humiliation came washing over you again with full force. You couldn't look Mabel in the eye for weeks after you found out about it. It was horrible. Having someone know about something private like that made you uneasy.

Getting up, you went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on your face. The last couple of days had already been hell on you, but now it was even worse. If your mind was going to give you dreams of past embarrassment then you'd rather not sleep at all.

It was better to just wait up for Bill, no matter how long he spent away.

_Bill_.

You shivered as the image of Mabel's teasing once again flooded your mind. Why couldn't you get it out of you head?

Involuntarily, your hands flew up to your head. They cradled it protectively, as if they were trying to keep something out.

You were confused. Were these strange dreams and behaviors just a result of your own exhaustion, or were they something more?

_Damn it, this wouldn't be happening if Bill never freaked out_.

And once again the memory of Mabel slapped you with full force. It seemed that every time you thought about Bill you remembered her jeering. Was your subconscious trying to tell you something?

Slowly, your eyes met your reflection in the mirror. Yes, it probably was. Something within your mind made Bill go off the deep end. Nothing you had lined up for him could have gotten him so upset.

He must have ventured off further into your mind. 

"Oh god," you muttered. Your hand moved to cover your mouth. _That_ was why you had that dream.

Bill must have seen you having sex.

The thought made you feel violated. It was a complete invasion of privacy. It was disrespectful.

It still didn't help you understand why he was so pissed.


	12. Return

Several more days passed; far too many to count. Each time you got out of bed the house seemed lonelier than before.

It felt like a bit of your energy got drained with each passing hour. The color seemed to drain from any room you entered. The house was lifeless.

Morbidly, you began to wonder if this was how the residents of hospices felt; like there was no point to anything. They just stared at the fading walls of their rooms while they awaited the inevitable.

A distressing thought had been entering your mind recently. Bill had never been out this long before. Even when he had business to take care of he still made it a point to check in on you every now and again. At this rate, it was seeming more and more likely that he would never return.

The very idea of it made your chest ache. Without Bill you had no one. No one to talk to. No one to live with. No one to _be_ with.

He wouldn't even give you the pleasure of visiting your dreams. He had never done it before, but given the circumstances you thought you deserved at least that much.

Numbly, you walked down to the living room and sat directly on the floor. This had become a habit for you; you'd go sit and wait a few hours each day just in case Bill decided to come back. You knew it was unlikely that he would, but it gave you a slight glimmer of hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. Each day you told yourself that maybe, just maybe, _this_ would be the day the universe showed you some mercy. Maybe it would be the day Bill returned.

You could feel time passing by at an agonizing rate. You'd finally reached your limit with that empty husk of a corpse a few nights ago. It was currently stuffed inside a closet where you wouldn't have to keep staring at it.

So, you found a new focal point: the spot where the couch used to be.

There was nothing but ash and dust there now, but that was fine. It wasn't like the thing you stared at how to be pretty. It was just something to focus on during your wait.

Of course, there were no clocks in the house. The only indication that time was actually passing came from shadows. If Bill didn't get back by the time the shadows on the wall reached the opposite end of the room, then you'd call it a day. Until then, you would diligently stare at that spot. The same spot a ball of light was beginning to form.

You perked up and gasped as the light got bigger and brighter. This could only mean one thing: Bill was back.

In another second the ball became a triangle and Bill appeared. Scrambling from your sitting position to your knees, you called out to him.

"Bill!" You couldn't help the smile that formed on your face, but it was quickly wiped away when you saw how frustrated he looked.

"Where is it?!" His voice was loud and demanding. Frantically, his eye darted all over the room.

You narrowed your eyes in confusion. "Where's what?"

"My human vessel! I need it!"

He flew over to a pile of random objects he kept off to the side. He dug his hands in the pile and began tossing items every which way. Every time he pulled something that wasn't the body he looked more and more desperate.

You stood up, but made no move to go towards him.

"The vessel? It was starting to freak me out, so I put it away," you admitted. "Why do you need it? And where have you been? Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"I've been off planning and making deals! I need that vessel if I'm going to get my revenge on the last three fourths of that wretched family!" His search became even more frantic as he yelled even louder. "Where's the body?!"

You took a step back. "Calm down! I put it in the closet---"

As soon as you said this, Bill made a beeline for the closet. You saw a bright flash coming from inside the closed door. 

"Wait! What do you mean by revenge on the last three fourths? Damn it Bill answer me!"

He was an idiot if he thought he could get away with being so cryptic with his answers after the hell he had put you through. Stomping over to the closet, you threw the door open.

Bill had entered his human form, and his facial features told you he was still pissed.

"Don't play dumb," Bill spat while pushing you to the side. He exited the closet and crossed his arms. "Pine tree probably bragged about what his family did to me plenty of times!"

Your features twisted into confusion. Every time Bill opened his mouth things made less sense. "Pine tree? What are you talking about?"

"I've had enough! I'm not going to stand here while you play innocent! You and your _precious person_ ," he said the word with a sneer, "were obviously close. You must know all about that stupid hick town and weirdmageddon!"

Bill still wasn't making any sense. "Precious person? You mean Dipper?"

It had been a while since you'd said your boyfriend's nickname out loud and it felt a bit foreign. The syllables felt long forgotten, yet familiar, on your tongue and it gave you a strange feeling. 

But it was clear the name gave Bill some choice feelings as well: anger and hatred. His fists balled up and his lips turned down in a snarling frown.

"Don't you ever say that name to me!" 

The walls began to shake along with Bill's rage. The movement made the whole house roar and groan under pressure, making it feel like the roof would cave in at any second. Nervous, you took a step back, but held your ground.

"Why not?! How do you know him? And what the hell is weirdmageddon?!"

"I don't have time for this! I have three people I need to make into corpses!"

Bill lifted his right forearm and you could see the light radiating off his hands. Getting his fingers into a snapping position, it was clear he was going to leave again. 

There was no way in hell you were going to let that happen.

It was a cheap shot, but it was the only option you had left. Lifting up your foot, you delivered a swift kick right between Bill's legs.

The demon yelled out and doubled over in pain. From his reaction you could tell he had never been through this before.

"What did you do?! It feels like my lower half is dying a slow and painful death!"

You gave him a few seconds to compose himself, but not so long that he would fully recover. If this was the only way to keep him around then so be it. 

"Bill I honest to god have no fucking clue what you're talking about. Why did you storm off? What do pine trees have to do with anything?"

It was a chore to try to keep your voice calm and controlled. You were a mess of emotions: you were depressed about Bill leaving, happy that he was back, and annoyed that nothing was making any sense. Everything swirling around your mind was enough to give you a headache. You deserved answers.

"Not pine trees, _Pine tree_ ," Bill hissed. He was still in pain from your kick, but now that the initial shock had subsided it was clear he was enjoying it.

"That still doesn't make any sense," you pointed out.

"Pine tree," Bill repeated. He mustered enough strength to lift his upper body off the floor. He took a few gasps of air before continuing. "Pine tree is Dipper."

He said the name like it left a sour taste in his mouth. He stared at you with an intensity that you had never seen before.

"Why do you call him that?" You thought for a second then spoke up again. "Actually I don't really care. How do you know him?"

Bill studied you for a second. "Huh, you really don't know anything about this."

"Yeah, that's what I've been trying to tell you. Now can you explain what's been going on?"

Now that he knew you were clueless, Bill visibly calmed down. You weren't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Getting up, Bill began to think. He eyed you suspiciously and placed a hand on his chin. The demon was deep in thought.

"Bill?" You shifted around uncomfortably. 

Removing his hand, he spoke. "It'd be best to explain everything from the beginning, but it all happened a lifetime ago," he explained. "So hows about I just show it to you?"


	13. Fault

The essence overtaking you didn’t feel like your own. Your entire being felt like it was boiling at temperatures you never thought possible. Your arms and legs burned to the core and your mind turned into a blank, white heat. One by one you lost sensation in your limbs until only a small fragment of your consciousness was left. That very consciousness floated hazily through a myriad of voices and images until a tangible picture began to form.

A younger, desperate looking Ford stood inside a cave by ancient ruins. He spoke an incantation aloud that you couldn’t understand, and he blinked in a mixture of surprise and disappointment when nothing happened.

You were hit by a wave of whiplash as the scene changed to what seemed like a dream. Ford and Bill were sharing cups of tea and playing chess. Bill endlessly complimented Ford, clearly buttering him up for something. Ford was none the wiser, however. He beamed at the demon’s praise.

The dream was then consumed by fire, making it disappear. In its place was a strange machine you had never seen before. It was triangular in shape and absolutely massive. 

“...a gateway to other worlds... ”

Ford’s voice rang out in the empty space you now occupied and you were suddenly shown a man getting sucked into the machine. Luckily, Ford managed to pull him out but it was obvious he was far from fine.

“When Gravity Falls and Earth become sky, fear the beast with just one eye!”

The man then turned to Ford and urged him to destroy the machine. Ford seemed hesitant, stating that the machine was his life’s work, but before you could see more another scene took over. 

“Bill, you lied to me! Where does that portal really lead?”

“Oh, looks like Mr. Brainiac just got smart. Let’s just say when that when that portal finishes charging up, your dimension is gonna learn how to party. Right, guys?”

Sinister laughter could be heard from the rift behind Bill. It filled the space with unsettling ease. Clearly horrified, Ford took a stand.

“No, I’ll stop you! I’ll shut it down!”

Bill’s brow furrowed. “A deal’s a deal, Sixer. You can’t stop the bridge between our worlds from coming, but it would be fun to watch you try. Cute even!”

Once again the memory you were peering into lurched forward. As it did, you continued to see and hear more fragments of past events.

Ford frantically hid two journals in the woods by his house. Then, a younger Stan came into the scene as Ford urged him to take the last of the journals and take it to the edge of the Earth.

“You finally want to see me after ten years and it’s to tell me to get as far away from you as possible?!”

The anger and hurt was evident in Stan’s voice. The next thing you knew the brothers were in an all out brawl for the journal. During their fight, they accidentally turned the portal back on and Ford was sucked inside.

The next several memories came without any accompanying voices. Stan tried desperately for years to get his brother back, took his identity in order to keep working on the machine, and lived a lie. This went on for decades until two people were brought into these memories.

It was Dipper and Mabel when they were still kids. The small spec of consciousness you still had drew back as you saw them get into progressively more dangerous situations in the town called Gravity Falls. It almost became too much for you when Bill entered their lives and tormented them.

Bill invaded Stan’s mind, turned Dipper into a living puppet, and then turned all of Gravity Falls into his own personal kingdom of madness. It was horrifying how much he reveled in the chaos he had made, but there was no doubt that his treatment of Dipper disgusted you the most.

Finally, the last bit of Bill’s history with the Pines family came through. They tricked him into going inside of Stan’s mind before using some sort of gun to wipe him from existence. 

“Ah!” You sat up in agony as you returned to your body. Your mind felt like it was exploding and the pain throbbed all over your body. “Bill, what the _fuck_ was all that?”

“My history with the Pines family.” He said it with contempt and disgust. “Weirdmageddon was going to be the best thing to ever happen to your dimension and they ruined it all. I hate them and that stupid hick town.”

Your visit to Gravity Falls suddenly made a lot more sense. If the people of the town endured all that it was no wonder that the air around them felt unusual. You were certain you would’ve wanted to forget about that horrible experience, too.

“You...you _tricked_ and _possessed_ people, Bill! You can’t do that!” Even though your head still felt like it was on fire, you turned to face him. “You can’t just go around turning people’s home into your twisted playground!”

Bill crossed his arms in a huff. “What? Are you trying to tell me you’re on their side? You saw what they did to me! They nearly wiped me out of existence! If I hadn’t have said my chant in time I wouldn’t even be here!”

“They only tried to get rid of you because you tormented them!” You couldn’t stop the anger from bubbling up inside you. Your stomach lurched at the fact that the being you had developed feelings for had done such horrid things. “I get it, okay?! You’re a being of pure chaos and this is the type of stuff you do, but there’s a limit Bill! You crossed the line on this one!”

“You’re the one who wanted to know about my history with them! Why are you upset with me for giving you what you wanted?!” Bill stood up so he could tower over you. “I didn’t need to do this from you, you know! I could’ve gone on with my day perfectly content to keep you in the dark!”

“So then why’d you show me?!”

“Because!” The demon opened his mouth to continue, but he closed it again. His eyes widened in shock and the anger lining his body disappeared. Before you could question it, the rigid anger was back. “I thought that you’d take my side!”

You blinked in surprise. “Take your side?! How could you expect me to take your side when you lied and betrayed everyone who gave you the slightest bit of trust?!”

“I don’t need a lecture from you, kid! Where do you get off acting all morally superior? You can’t apply your ethical code to me! We’re from completely different worlds!” His brows were narrowed down and his hands were clenched by his sides. It was as if his human form could barely contain his anger. “Tell me the truth! Would you even be angry with me if Pine Tree wasn’t in this picture?!”

“Of course I’d be angry! You’d still be taking advantage of people!”

“But would you be _as_ angry?!”

Your voice wasn’t able to form a reply. Your brain went into overdrive as it thought about Bill’s question. _Would_ you be as angry?

You should be, right? It was wrong to take advantage of anyone, but you had to admit you didn’t feel particularly passionate about the memories you were seeing until Dipper came in. Was he the only reason you were so angry?

“I...I don’t know,” you admitted. “But what does that matter? He _was_ involved and that’s enough to justify my anger!”

You thought back on your life with Dipper and felt your eyes being to water. He never looked like he was in any pain, but now you knew better. He had probably been suffering with the mental and emotional scars his run ins with Bill had caused him the entire time you two were together. 

“So what?! Do you hate me now or something?!”

Once again, Bill’s question made your brain surge out of control. “Why would you ask me that?” You didn’t have the energy to scream anymore. Everything felt numb.

Bill was silent for several seconds. “I’m going to kill them, you know. I don’t want any of them to be breathing.”

A painful memory of your own came rushing back to you. “Dipper was killed by two men. Did you have anything to do with that?”

“How could I? I didn’t even know where that awful family was until you came along. The kid dealt in a lot of occult and supernatural dealing he had no business in. It doesn't surprise me that he made some enemies. Of course, it is possible those guys were followers of mine, but it’s not like I gave them orders or anything.”

Wrapping your arms around yourself, you forced your voice to stay steady. “You say it so casually.”

You didn’t want to have this conversation anymore. You wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. It felt like no matter what happened in life you always found yourself feeling defeated in one way or another. This was the eternity you signed yourself up for, and now you desperately wanted to get out of it.

“Listen, kid. To me this is all just business as usual. Either you have to learn to accept it, or learn not to be so bothered by it.” You heard him walk a few feet away. “Next time you want answers from me be sure you can actually handle them.”

His voice sounded strained. You weren’t sure if he was looking at you, but you managed a weak nod before you saw a bright flash of light from your peripheral vision. 

Looking up, you confirmed your suspicions. Bill had left yet again.

You knew he was going to take out the rest of Dipper’s family. You knew they were going to be made to suffer beforehand. You knew they’d try in vain to fight off the demon who was always one step ahead of the game. 

But even so, you couldn’t bring yourself to care. First Dipper, then your mother, then the feelings you had developed for Bill. One by one it seemed like all the things you cared about were being ripped away from you. You had nothing left to lose.

Getting off the floor, you wandered into the bathroom where you splashed cold water on your face. You almost wanted to laugh at how idiotic you were. All of this happened because you thought you could get Bill to understand how you felt. As if that would ever happen.

The more you thought about it, the more you felt you should have kept your emotions to yourself. Everything would have been better. Bill wouldn’t be out killing people and you wouldn’t be here hating yourself and feeling so empty.

There was no way Bill could love you like Dipper had and you were a moron for thinking that you could make it work. Even though you knew you were a victim in this situation, it still felt like everything was your fault.


	14. Pain

This was it. The moment where everything would be made right in the world. But how to do it? There were endless possibilities and plenty of time. Should he make it agonizingly slow and painful or horrifying so he could hear those delicious screams of terror? He couldn’t stop the manic grin from forming as his hands rubbed together in anticipation. No matter what he did it was sure to be _good_.

The Stan twins were the first on his hit list. The pair was always together which made them an easier target to track down. For the moment, they were spending a few nights in a small port town, no doubt taking a small break from their voyage around the world. Not that any of that mattered to Bill. He was too busy picking which twin would be the first to fall.

_Eenie, meenie, miney, **YOU**._

Bill snapped his fingers in a swift motion. At the same time, Stanley’s eyes widened in shock as he stood up and screamed.

“Stanley? Stanley what’s wrong?” Ford jumped to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. The fear and concern was etched on his face and Bill licked his lips as in satisfaction. That expression alone was as savory as a five course meal.

“I don’t know! My stomach feels like it’s...it’s...” Stanley began to hyperventilate as he tried to put his agony into words. In another moment, he doubled over in pain and began to retch. 

Bill did his best to conceal his laughter. He didn’t want to reveal himself to them just yet. He wanted to relish the moment.

“Try to sit down! I’ll call an ambulance!” Ford lifted Stanley off the ground and tried his best to help him to the bed, but Stanley began to vomit and fell to the floor once more.

Both brothers screamed when they realized he was throwing up blood. Ford rushed to the phone by the nightstand, but as soon as he reached for it Bill’s eye took on a blue glow that was gone just as quickly as it had come.

“The phone’s dead! Help! Somebody help!” Ford rushed towards the door as Stanley continued to vomit. From the look in Stan’s eyes it was clear he would lose consciousness soon.

Bill couldn’t contain his laughter any longer. He let out a wolfish cackle as he snapped his fingers once more.

Ford immediately fell to the floor and began to scream as his legs began to feel like they were being stabbed repeatedly, but even through his agony he still managed to scream out.

“Who’s there?! Who’s doing this?!”

Unable to contain himself any longer, Bill stepped out from his hiding place. Both brother’s looked at his with a questioning gaze, but the words that left his mouth let them know exactly who he was.

“Hey, Sixer! Long time no see!”

“Bill!” Ford’s eyes widened in shock, but they instantly shut when Bill multiplied the pain he was feeling.

Bill ran a hand through his hair, moving his messy bangs away from the place a second human eye should be, but instead there was a deep nothingness that resembled the likes of a black hole. 

“I’d conserve the little energy you have by not screaming,” Bill told him. “Besides, you might wake the neighbors. Were you raised in a barn?”

Ford grimaced from the agony in his body. “How is this possible?! We destroyed you! We wiped you right out of existence!”

“No, you _thought_ you did, but it looks like you weren’t as thorough as you would’ve liked!” Bill’s grin was so wide it could split his face. “Did you honestly think I was going to let you get away with what you did to me?! This entire family is going to pay! Once you two bite the dust, Shooting Star is next!”

As Bill finished his sentiments, Stanley Pines died from blood loss. As his lifeless husk crumbled to the floor, Bill felt his body itch with content. 

“Stanley!” The scream was filled with sorrow and pain. Tears welled up in Ford’s eyes as he glared at the demon. “You won’t get away with this! I’ll find a way to stop you!”

Bill laughed so hard he had to hold his stomach. “Good luck with that.” He closed the space between Ford and himself with three long strides. Then, Bill snapped his fingers and in an instant Ford’s esophagus was ripped out of this throat.

He was filled with glee once more as the light left Ford’s eyes.

Still, there wasn’t much time to revel in it. There was still one more person he had to dispose of.

It took a bit of tracking, but he eventually found Mabel’s urban apartment. The place was littered with different fabrics, a sewing machine, and several house plants. There were also several storage bins filled with other arts and crafts supplies. Bill smiled devilishly as they gave him a wonderfully horrid idea.

He had just enough time to grab what he needed from one of the bins and hide right between the couch and wall. Mabel would be getting home any minute.

Right on cue, Bill heard the doorknob jingle as a set of keys began to unlock it. A moment later, it flew open.

“Phew, it’s a scorcher out today!” Closing the door behind her, Mabel set down a few bags of groceries. Opening one of them, she gathered the contents and began to put them away in the kitchen.

Knowing this was the moment to strike, Bill jumped out from behind the couch and ran up behind her. The knitting needles in his hands were jammed into her eyes within a millisecond.

Mabel let out an ear shattering scream as she cupped her face in her hands. As he watched her desperately try to remove the needles, Bill couldn’t help but marvel at the glory of doing something with his own two hands. Magic was always great, but this felt a lot more personal.

As tears of blood streamed down her face, Bill opened several kitchen drawers until he found a decent sized knife. He jammed it into her side without a second thought. 

Her screams became even louder. “Stop! Stop!” Her begging was music to his ears.

“Oh Shooting Star, we can’t stop yet! The fun’s just begun!”

Bill could tell the nickname had registered in her mind from the way her screams became more frantic.

“No! You’re dead! You’re gone! We got rid of you!”

Her burts of fear, pain, and confusion didn’t stop the entire time Bill continued to stab her. It wasn’t until she had no lifeforce left that everything in the apartment went quiet.

If this was what peace felt like then Bill had to make a mental note to feel it more often. Now that those pests were out of his life it felt like everything was right in the universe. All there was left to do was head home.

And with that Bill stopped in his tracks. The situation at home was the complete opposite of peace. He was sure (y/n) was still angry, but that was nothing new. He had gotten used to her short temper in the time they had known each other. She was always cursing at him, telling him how awful he was, and sometimes even went as far as to ignore him. Anything she threw at him, he could handle.

And so he was back in his living room with one snap of his fingers.

“(Y/n), I’m back!” He announced his presence to see if she would reply. When no response came, Bill confidently cocked his brow. So it was the ignoring game, huh? Well, he could take care of that.

He ducked into the kitchen to see if she was there. No luck. Seeing as she had no bedroom of her own, that meant she was either in his room or the bathroom.

She had never been in his bedroom before, so Bill headed straight for the bathroom. Sure enough, (y/n) was there. She was sitting by the wall, hugging her knees to her chest, and staring blankly at the floor.

“I know you’re mad, but do you really want to seal yourself away in the bathroom? There isn’t much to do in here.”

Instead of responding, she gripped her knees closer to her chest. Bill’s cool expression faltered as he registered that something wasn’t right here.

Usually when she ignored him there was an air of haughtiness around her, but today something was different. She looked defeated. Her downcast eyes refused to look up, her hair limply fell in front of her face, and her complexion looked too pale to be healthy.

“Kid? You listening?” Bill took a cautious step forward, but stopped when he saw her attempt to push herself closer to the wall. It was clear she didn’t want to be near him. Frowning, Bill spoke once again.

“Look, things got out of hand earlier, but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed. I’m sure it’ll work itself out.”

“Did you kill them?” Her question was so quiet Bill took a moment to wonder whether she had actually spoken.

“Yeah, I did.” His head cocked to the side curiously. He thought he had made it clear that he was going to kill them.

She put her head down in her lap so he couldn’t see her face. He waited to see if she would say anything else, but she remained hidden in her lap.

Bill stood there, unsure of what to do. She had never behaved this way towards him. Even though he knew she hated it, there was no other option. She was giving him nothing to work with, so he would have to find a means of making this better himself.

His eye stared at her and began to give off a faint glow. He then heard the faint sound of her voice echoing in her mind.

_Am I a bad person for not caring they’re dead? I only talked to them because they were Dipper’s family, but now that he’s gone I have no reason to be attached to them._

Was that all she was worried about? Bill’s eye narrowed as he continued to search her mind.

_I’ve lost everything. There’s nothing left in the world to keep me going, but I **have** to keep going because I’m a stupid fucking ghost. The rest of my eternity is going to be nothing but emptiness and despair._

Bill bit his lip as that thought came through. He didn’t want her to be a moping mess for all eternity.

_I never should have let Bill go through my memories. What the hell was I expecting? That he’d suddenly stop being a manic demon and settle down with me? Am I that much of a dumbass?_

Bill blinked in surprise. Was that what she wanted? He felt his chest begin to tighten and his hand flew up to feel it. This was a new sensation.

_I hate myself, I hate myself, I hate myself._

Bill felt his brow furrow. The strange throbbing in his chest was getting stronger and his vision became slightly blurred. His vessel had never done this before. It made him feel slightly panicked.

“Kid? I...I think this vessel is broken.” He struggled to talk as a lump began to form in his throat. He did his best to swallow it down, but it was mostly ineffective. “There’s a lot happening right now that’s never happened before and I don’t think I like it very much!”

_Why is he telling me all this? I don’t have time to worry about what’s going on with his body._

The sensation in his chest suddenly became painful. She didn’t care that he was in pain? She didn’t care that he was having some kind of malfunction?

His body seemed to move on its own. Before he knew what was happening, Bill was kneeling in front of (y/n) and threw his arms around her. He felt water begin to drip from his eye.

“It’s leaking! Why is it leaking?!” Bill was starting to panic. That mixed with the pain his body was giving him made him feel like absolute garbage. 

He felt (y/n) stirr from under him. “Bill, are you crying?” She lifted her head to get a good look at him. “Why are _you_ crying? _I’m_ the one with the problems.”

“I don’t know! This body is going haywire! My chest hurts, my eye is leaking, and there’s a ball in my throat!”

(Y/n)’s face made an expression for the first time since Bill had found her: _confusion_. 

“It means you’re sad. But why would you be? You’ve gotten everything you wanted. The Pines family is dead.”

Bill shook his head. “I don’t know! I was fine until you started thinking about how you hate yourself!”

She looked down in deep thought. “You’re sad because I hate myself?”

Bill couldn’t bring himself to reply. The lump in his throat was too tight to speak through. These human bodies always managed to to the strangest things to him when he least expected them.

Seeing as he was silent, (y/n) continued. “Get some rest, Bill. We can talk about this later.”

Bill waited to see if she would get up to leave, but she didn’t budge. Picking himself up off the floor, Bill wiped his face on his sleeve and walked into his bedroom. 

He threw himself on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. His chest was still tight and he had no idea how to fix it. All he could do was hope it’d disappear after a bit of rest.


	15. Pleasure

Back when you were a teenager you had experienced your fair share of heartbreak. Whether it was losing friends, going through a messy break up, or having to deal with all the usual angst that came with living, you knew exactly how to get through it. You’d curl up in your bed and listen to music on full blast. Your mom would find you and comfort you while you cried to let it all out. Even though everything felt like it was falling apart the beat of the music and your mother’s presence reassured you that everything would work out in the end.

But things weren’t so simple anymore. These problems were too far out of your control and too great in grief. No amount of music would drown out how hollow you felt. Your mother wasn’t here to hold you anymore. There was only the cold, unforgiving floor and the shivering of your own body.

You didn’t even have the energy to be mad at Bill. After everything he put you through, what he had put _others_ through, he had the audacity to be sad. What was he expecting you to do? Comfort him? You couldn’t even comfort yourself.

The floor beneath you turned blurry as your eyes filled with tears. You wanted to feel something. Anything was better than this inner turmoil. 

Slowly, you crawled towards the shower and turned it on. You moved the knob all the way to the left and waited a few seconds before sticking your hand inside.

“Fuck!” The hot water burned against your skin, but you kept your arm in place. Steam began to form around you as the water continued to pour down. You didn’t stop until enough steam built up to the point where it was hard to breathe.

Shutting the shower off, you examined your bright red arm. There wasn’t any serious damage, but the physical pain was enough to override your emotional turmoil.

_More._

You didn’t want to go back to that dark, lonely mental place. Turning the showerhead back on, you moved the knob as far to the right as possible. You waited once more before shoving your sore arm into the stream.

The frigid water felt like needle pricks. You hissed behind chattering teeth as the water continued to do its damage. It was while you were staring at the steady falling water that you got an idea.

Reaching for the drain stopper, you jammed it inside the drain. Slowly, but surely, the tub began to fill up. Just as it was halfway full, you took a deep breath and submerged your head in the icy tundra. 

The sudden change in temperature made goosebumps form all over your body, but you didn’t care. You couldn’t see or hear anything when you were inside the water. It was a comforting feeling you had been longing for, but you couldn’t help but want more. Forcing yourself to inhale sharply, you screamed as the water entered your body. 

It rushed in through your nostrils and filled your lungs. The pain seemed like it would be similar to swallowing glass; sharp and agonizing. You forced yourself inhale more water in short bursts. It was hard to say what you loved more; the pain from breathing or the fact that the water drowned out your screams.

It wasn’t until your head became fuzzy that the pain started to subside. Your muscles gradually relaxed as your upper body folded against itself. Before you knew it, everything went black.

You weren’t surprised when you finally woke up. It was already common knowledge that you couldn’t kill yourself, but it was still shocking to discover that you could still pass out. Even more shocking, though, was that you weren’t in the bathroom.

The walls in this room were a pale yellow that almost seemed like it was peeling. The bed beneath you was large and lush. Never in your life had you been in a more comfortable bed. There were dozens of pillows supporting you and the comforter was warm and elegant. 

However, other than the bed, the room was relatively empty. There was a small nightstand with a lamp next to you and a loveseat, but absolutely nothing else.

Sitting up, you took one of the pillows on the bed and hugged it to your chest. Where the hell were you?

At that moment, the bedroom door opened and Bill ran in with more pillows and blankets. When your eyes met he dropped them all to the floor.

“You’re awake!” His expression was one of shock, but it quickly turned into concerned anger. “What were you doing back there?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!”

Stepping on the pile of pillows and blankets he had just dropped, Bill rushed over to you and nearly tackled you in a hug. The gesture threw you off guard. You hadn’t been expecting it.

“I thought it was weird that you turned on the shower, but I didn’t think much of it until the water started flowing into my room! I rushed to the bathroom and what did I find?! You trying to drown yourself!” His grip on you tightened as he spoke. “You’re such an idiot! You can’t even die, remember?!” 

It felt strange to have him be so concerned for you, especially after what had been happening between the two of you for the past several days. 

“I just needed to feel something,” you told him matter of factly. The more you thought about past events, the less willing you were to do this. You let your body sink down so you were lying on your side, but Bill’s grip didn’t let up. He fell to the bed with you so you were pressed against his chest.

“Feel something?! Why would you want to feel pain and agony like...like..”

“Like you?” As you offered the suggestion, you felt Bill tense up. 

“That’s different. I was born and breed for that kind of stuff. You weren’t.” Even though he was still upset, he finally stopped screaming. You must have hit a nerve with that last comment.

Not knowing what to say to him, you let your head sink down lower. You wanted to avoid looking at him, but this new placement put your head right by his heart. 

The beating was rapid and strong. His hold on you refused to falter and his body was tense. For a split second, you found yourself wondering if maybe this meant something, but you quickly dismissed the thought. Thinking those kinds of thoughts got you into this mess in the first place.

“Look, it was a stupid thing to do. I get that, it won’t happen again. Could you let go so I can head downstairs and get some sleep?”

“No!” Bill’s voice was frantic and he momentarily pressed your bodies together. “After this little stunt I’m not letting you out of my sight!”

Placing your hands on his chest, you did your best to pull away from him. “You don’t need to babysit me. I already told you I’m not going to do anything.”

As you slowly began to get away, Bill took your hands in his. In one swift movement, he rolled you onto your back and pinned you to the bed. 

Now that he was directly above you, you could see the concern etched on his face. His brows were furrowed together and his eye glistened with tears. His mouth formed a thin line and his body was shaking ever so slightly.

“I’m not letting you leave. I need you here where I can make sure you’re safe.”

Your own eyes began to well up with tears. He looked genuinely upset and hurt over this. How could someone who had been out murdering just hours before look so fragile and broken? It felt wrong to see humanity within Bill. He was a horrible person. You didn’t even know a fraction of the awful things he had done since he came into the world.

And yet he seemed _human_. His vessel was making him feel things he normally wouldn’t. He was looking at you with such sincerity that it made your stomach churn. Was this really Bill talking or just the side effects of being inside a body?

Did you really care?

Maybe what Bill said earlier held some merit. You either had to learn to accept things in life or learn to stop being bothered by them. You were a ghost in service to a demon and just for right now you didn’t want to think about Bill’s atrocities, his feelings (whether they were his own or a product of the vessel), or anything else. You wanted to listen to your own unethical urges.

However self destructive they may be.

The need to feel something came back at full force. You were sick of being trapped in your own head and, right or wrong, you were going to get it to shut up.

Using all the strength you had, you bucked Bill off of you. He opened his mouth to say something, but you sprung into action. Tackling him onto the bed, you straddled him and rammed your lips against his in a sloppy rhythm. 

As you continued to assault his lips, Bill remained unresponsive from shock. You felt yourself growing irritated with his inaction as your hunger for more grew. Pulling back, your words came out in a growl.

“What’s the matter? Can’t keep up?”

Bill’s eye widened at your animalistic tone. Clearly he hadn’t been expecting this from you. 

Taking a fistful of his shirt, you resumed your bruisingly rough kisses. It took Bill a few seconds, but once he got the hang of what you were doing, he began to return them with equal force.

“What...are we….doing...” The question from Bill came in short bursts between kisses. You ran a hand through his hair and used the other to begin unbuttoning his shirt.

“We don’t have the fucking time for a sex ed. course. Just turn your brain off and let the vessel do all the work,” you instructed as you threw his button up to the ground.

Leaning down, you trailed your lips down the delicate skin, trying to find the the best place to leave your mark. When Bill let out a small moan as you continued your assault, you bit down harshly.

“Ahh! Kid, that feels great!” Bill grimaced in pleasure as you continued to ravage his throat. You wanted this mark and all the others to be visible. Once you could see the blue shape beginning to form, you moved down and gave Bill’s chest the same treatment. 

As your lips, tongue, and teeth skillfully worked, Bill groped you to his heart’s content. His hands squeezed your ass while yours were busy feeling his strong shoulders. 

Wanting more, you quickly discarded your own shirt. You sat up and leaned back to unhook your bra, and as you did Bill’s arousal became evident from underneath you. His erection dug into your thigh.

Shivering in anticipation, your hands quickly moved to unbutton his pants. The excitement was making your hands shake to the point where you were clearly struggling. In a move that both surprised and aroused you, Bill tossed you onto the bed and quickly took off his pants.

Once they were gone, he crawled over you and captured you in an open mouthed kiss. You lead the way as you twined your tongue with his and moved your hands along his exposed back. 

The movement had him shivering in pleasure and it only added to the heat building up between your legs.

“I think I’m starting to get the hang of this,” Bill breathed as he lowered his head to you chest. You mewled as his tongue carefully traced your left nipple before taking it into his mouth.

“ _Fuck_ , I think you are.”

While Bill busied himself with your chest, you took the opportunity to take off your jeans. Once they were gone, your hands tangled themselves in his hair. You were so caught up in your own pleasure that you didn’t realize Bill had managed to get his boxers off. His fingers were now tracing down your sides and your breathing hitched when they reached your underwear. You lifted your legs so he could easily slide them off.

“Here,” you said while using your elbows to prop yourself up. “Let me get on top.”

Shaking his head, Bill lead you back down. “No, I think I can do this.”

Even though you weren’t sure what he was planning, you knew you trusted him. You gave him a nod of approval as you relaxed under him.

You felt his hand slowly rub circles on your thigh. The anticipation to be touched was nearly killing you. You tried to rub your legs together to create friction, but Bill’s body was in the way. It was too much. 

Until Bill slid a finger inside. You gasped in pleasure as he moved it in and out in a steady pace.

“It’s so warm and wet,” he commented before adding another finger. He was unnaturally good at this for his first time. You found yourself whining and bucking your hips up for more.

Taking notice of your needs, Bill speed up. His fingers pushed against your walls and you started to hear just how wet you were. It was an intoxicating sound.

As you moaned in pleasure, Bill began to experiment. He’d add more fingers, curl them, change the angle, all sorts of things. Each movement had you going crazy. You could feel a ball of heat building up in your abdomen as Bill continued to finger you.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, Bill’s fingers powerfully drove into your core.

“Fuck!” You felt yourself tighten around him as waves of pleasure ran through you. Your ragged breathing filled the room and your body completely relaxed. 

When you came back to reality, you could see how uncomfortable Bill looked. He clearly needed his own release. Crawling out from under him, you told him to lie on his back. He complied and you carefully straddled him. 

You were so wet that you didn’t need to guide him inside you.

“ _Shit_!” The demon hissed as you let him fill you to the base. You had to bite your lip to keep your own pleasure from shining through. This next round was about _him_.

Placing your hands firmly on his chest, you made shallow bounces. Bill’s eyes tightly shut as small whimpers and hisses left his mouth. His hands blindly grabbed at you and you gradually made your bounces rougher and deeper.

Sweat began to cover your bodies as Bill’s length continued to reach new places. Soon, you couldn’t stop your gasps from mixing in with his.

After a small eternity, Bill’s breathing became heavy. Taking the hint, you roughly slammed yourself down on him as he screamed out in pleasure. You could feel his orgasm as he rode it out.

“S-spasms. There’s so many spasms,” Bill gasped. Nodding, you let yourself fall next to him on the bed.

“Yeah, I know.” You couldn’t help it. You reached over and captured him in one last kiss. He happily returned it. “Let’s get some sleep.”

Reaching over, Bill covered both of you in a blanket. You took one final moment to marvel at what you had just done before curling up next to his chest and closing your eyes.


	16. Domestic

Bill was already gone by the time you woke up. The memories of last night lingered in your mind as you walked over to a pile of clothes by the floor and put on one of his shirts. Surely he wouldn’t mind, and you didn’t have enough energy to properly dress yourself. Then again, being low on energy seemed to be your new normal. That, and being emotionally compromised. You were certain you looked like a mess.

A quick trip to the bathroom confirmed your suspicions. Your reflection looked to be that of a stranger’s. Those dark circles and lifeless hair weren’t familiar. Chapped lips stood jagged against the skin that was entirely too pale from being locked up inside with nothing but depression for company. Not even the slightest bit of shine came from the now dull eyes that used to radiate joy and mischief. 

How long had you been like this? When did you start becoming so undone that it showed on your body? It was almost nauseating how difficult it was to recognize yourself under all the sickly features you now sported.

The only thing to do was to fix yourself up. Even if you felt like a mess internally you at least wanted to appear put together. Your feet automatically lead you to the shower. Turning on the water, you waited until it was nice and warm.

Taking off the shirt, you stepped into the calming stream of water and closed the curtain behind you. It was a bit unnerving to think just last night you were using this same water to torture yourself, but there was nothing you could do about it now. You let it wash over you as you started to clean yourself up.

During this time, you began to think of what you had done with Bill. You knew what had happened had been real, your sore body was evidence of that, but in a way it felt like a fever dream. Something that was impossible, yet was all too real. Like you were detached from it somehow.

But the more you thought about it, the more you believed that you didn’t regret it. It was an illogical and selfish thing for you to do, but after everything you’d been through you deserve to be a bit selfish every now and again. Hell, if given the chance you were certain you would do it again.

Chills ran up your arms as the mental image of your body entwining with Bill filled you. You _wanted_ to be in that position again. Your thighs slowly rubbed together as you felt the heat building up between them. The memory of Bill was intoxicating and you had a feeling you were hooked. You missed him.

“Oh my god!” You screamed and jumped back as far as you could within the shower. Something large had just fallen right outside the shower. The sound nearly gave you a heart attack.

“Ughhhh.”

Your shoulders tensed as you heard someone groan from behind the curtain. There was nothing large or heavy enough to defend you. Your eyes widened as you realized you might have to fight whoever this intruder was with your bare hands.

Gulping, you slowly pulled back the curtain. You just wanted a quick peek at what you were up against. 

“Bill? What are you doing in here?”

The demon was kneeling on the floor while rubbing the top of his head. His eyes met yours as he got to his feet.

“I have no idea. One second I’m in dimension x and the next thing I know I’m here on the floor.” Dusting himself off, he eyed the shower suspiciously. “You aren’t trying to drown yourself again, are you?”

Seeing as there was no danger, you closed the curtain and resumed your shower. “No. I’m just getting clean.” You stood under the shower head once more and basked in the moment. “Did your magic go haywire or something? Why’d you end up here?”

You could see Bill’s shadow on the curtain. He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “I already said that I don’t know. This has never happened before.” He cocked his head to the side and sighed. “Honestly a lot of strange things I can’t explain have been happening over the last day or so and I don’t think it’s completely inappropriate to blame you.”

“Me?” Crossing your arms, you sharply stared at Bill’s shadow. “How is it my fault that you can’t control your magic?”

“I keep thinking about last night. It’s like I’ve been cursed or hexed or something,” Bill lamented. 

A small gasp formed in your throat. The words instantly made your heart flutter as your mind raced at the implications. Centering yourself, you did your best to make your voice sound even. It was too early to get carried away in the moment.

“Does thinking about it make you feel good or bad?” Surely he’d be able to answer such a simple question. Yes, you had to take baby steps when it came to these things. The last thing you needed was to jump the gun and erase any progress that might have been made between your relationship with him. 

He was quiet for a long time. You resumed your shower and were almost completely done by the time he spoke. 

“Good I guess. Physically it was great and my head gets all fuzzy when I think back on it. Plus my chest starts to race and that’s always fun. Like an adrenaline kick,” he described. You could practically feel the grin on his face.

Turning off the shower, you gathered your hair between your hands and wrung out the excess water. “Glad you’re having fun with it. Pass me a towel?” You stuck your hand out of the curtain and gave a small thanks as he placed the towel in it. After wrapping yourself up you stepped out.

“Is it always that exhilarating when you humans do that stuff?” Bills eye followed your every move as he waited for an answer. He was certainly eager to learn.

You started brushing your hair as you thought of a response. “I’d say it’s like that a good chunk of the time, but it depends on the mood that’s set. Sometimes people like to take things slower than we did and it makes things a lot more intimate.”

“Intimate?” Bill’s brow cocked up as he tested the word on his tongue. You could tell his was unsure of the idea, but slightly interested.

“Yeah, and there’s people who like to make things even more intense than us,” you explained. “I’m sure you’d have a field day if I showed you what BDSM is.”

Bill’s brow furrowed. “Those are just a bunch of letters you strung together. Stop making stuff up.”

“I promise you that it’s very real. I’ve never done anything that extreme, but fuck it. You gotta try everything once, you know? Only if you want to though,” you added. You knew you were hooked on Bill, but you didn’t want to pressure him into anything.

“I have to admit, I am curious. How much do you think I’d like it?”

“It’s a kink for people who derive pleasure from being hurt. It’s right up your alley.”

Bill’s face lit up at the thought of feeling pain. “Gee kid, let me know the next time you’re available and we can work something out.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at how gleeful he was being. No one but Bill could make you feel nothing, everything, and just the right amount at any given time. Being around him was certainly a roller coaster, but for the time being you decided to just enjoy the ride. Maybe that was the key to staying more or less stable in both the physical and emotional sense. You needed to learn to turn your brain off and relax.

“I’ll have to check my schedule, but I’ll get back to you.” The smile on your lips was genuine. You went out into the hall and opened the spare closet you kept your clothes in. Grabbing some, you went back into the bathroom. “Now get out so I can change.”

“Why? I've already seen you naked.”

“It’s called wanting privacy now get,” you told him while pushing him out. Once he was in the hall you shut the door and put on your clothes. As you looked yourself over in the mirror you were glad to see you looked better. The dark circles still sagged under your eyes and your lips were still cracked, but your hair and skin certainly seemed healthier.

Leaving the bathroom, you saw Bill waiting in the hall like a child. He was clearly annoyed that you had kicked him out.

“Are you mad at me?” The grin pulling at your lips was impossible to stop. It was too funny to see him pouting like this.

“We were having a good conversation. I don’t see why I had to leave,” Bill complained.

“I promise you can stay next time.” He certainly was needy. You made a mental note to give him at least a little attention everyday. He might internally combust otherwise.

“Good,” he mused. “That’s all I ask.” Shoving his hands into his pockets, you couldn’t help but notice how he shrunk down a bit, almost as if he was nervous. “Seeing as neither of us can get anything done how’s about we take the rest of the day off? Maybe go do something?”

Blinking, you processed his words. “What did you have in mind?”

“I dunno. I see humans going to the movies in pairs a lot. Maybe that?”

“Oh! Sure.” You were caught off guard by the sudden suggestion. “Let’s do it.”

You placed your hand on Bill’s forearm as he teleported both of you down to a random town on Earth. It took a bit of exploring and asking for directions, but eventually you found a movie theater. It was a bit of a shock when Bill chose what seemed to be a romantic comedy from the movie lineup. When you asked why he chose that one in particular he shrugged and said the promotional poster caught his attention.

The movie itself was pretty by the books, but you’d be lying if you said you weren’t enjoying yourself. Bill had become the enemy of every other movie goer in that theater. He had absolutely no volume control, so he critiques and complaints were heard by everyone. It was a miracle you weren’t thrown out.

But even though his commentary was entertaining, your favorite part about the experience was the way Bill kept you safely tucked under his arm.


	17. Live

You weren't sure what to make of the offer when Bill first suggested it. Ever since the two of you began to get along better, Bill insisted you teach him more about human relationships. It was much like your lessons on friendship from the past, but now things were starting to lean away from platonic and morph into romantic. Even so, you were a long way from calling this an official relationship. No, for now, you were in a grey area: friends with benefits. But when you let a certain bit of information slip, Bill seemed to hyper focus on it.

_"So what do people in advancing relationships do?" Bill was sitting on the arm of the couch, leaning down curiously as you continued to teach him._

_"Go on dates, kiss, all that kind of stuff." You paused for a moment to think of any other things you might be missing. "I guess another thing they do is meet each other's friends and families, but that usually doesn't come until things start getting serious. Hell, most guys would shit their pants if you tried to do it too soon."_

_Bill tilted his head to the side with intrigue. "Meet friends and family? What a strange thing to do. You know, I destroyed my parents shortly after being born and most of my friends are dead."_

_Grimacing, you moved away from him ever so slightly. "The smile on your face makes that seem like a good thing."_

_"Eh, they're more like minor details in the grand scheme of my life," Bill assured you. "But I have to admit, meeting your friends and family sounds like fun."_

_"But there's no way for you to meet them. We aren't exactly normal humans living on Earth. I don't think it'd go over so well if I suddenly started showing up at people's doorsteps," you pointed out. You could already imagine everyone's looks of horror._

__

__

_"You don't have to! I could make you a sort of mini Earth right here in the living room!" Bill grinned widely as he swept his arms across the room for emphasis._

_"A mini Earth? How would that even work?"_

_Getting off the couch, Bill stood in front of you and began to speak in excited bursts. "Well, it's more of a bubble really! Think of it as your own personal world right here at home!" He took a moment to compose himself to get his point across better. "Everything in this world would cater to your needs. I'll get all the basic structures and confinements going and then you can go crazy making it however you want."_

_You were starting to understand. Placing a hand on your chin, you summarized to make sure you were getting everything right. "So you want me to go into this bubble and make it just like my life at home?"_

_"You can add embellishments if you'd like," Bill answered. "Mostly I just want to meet your family and friends. So what do you say?"_

_Knitting your brows together, you began to think of the pros and cons of going along with this. He was basically asking you to play pretend and use your imagination to bring back your old life, but there was something unsettling about it all. What if reliving your life made you go back to hating your current state?_

_"I'll...I'll think about it," you said with uncertainty._

And so far you had spent the better part of a week thinking. You couldn't figure out why you were so unsure about all this. The world would be however you wanted it to be so there was no chance of being in danger, but you felt so far separated from your old life that going back made you feel anxious. 

But at the same time, it would be nice to feel that nostalgic twinge of living. Surely going back to it for a day or two wouldn't leave any lasting scars. As long as you made the trip down memory lane short things were bound to be okay.

You started walking to Bill's room. If you didn't do this now then you were sure you'd back out. Besides, you really did want Bill to have the experience of meeting the important people in your life. He seemed genuinely excited about it.

"Bill?" You knocked on the door three times before cracking it open. Bill was sprawled out on the bed reading the thickest book you had ever seen.

"Hey kid. You need something?" Setting the book aside, Bill sat up.

"You remember the other day when you were telling me about the bubble? Well I think I've made up my mind. I want to do it," you spoke with resolve.

"Really?!" His face lit up. "Do you want to do it right now? I can make the bubble in no time!"

"I don't see why not, but try to calm down. Meeting the family is supposed to be a casual thing. Being too excited might make them feel put off," you warned.

"Oh, right. Humans are so faint of heart." Taking a deep breath, Bill allowed himself to relax. "Let's get to the living room. My body is burning with anticipation."

Springing off the bed, Bill walked right past you and made a beeline for the living room. Seeing as it was now or never, you sighed and began to follow him down. Technically all you were doing was going home, but there was still an air of uncertainty and nervousness at your core. It scrambled inside of you and was made even more complicated by the fact that deep down you were pretty excited about this. It had been ages since you'd seen your loved ones and now you had the opportunity to do it.

Once you were in the living room, you watched Bill flash you a smile. With a snap of his fingers, a good sized bubble began to materialize and float just above the floor. It was a light blue hue and an infinity symbol plastered itself on the center as the bubble's form became solid.

Curious, you took a step forward and placed your hand on the bubble. White light began to surround you as your hand slipped inside the bubble. Your eyes widened in alarm as you pulled your hand back and examined it. Nothing about it seemed different, but you protectively held it to your chest.

"Are you sure this thing is safe?" You eyed the bubble with concern.

"Absolutely! After you," Bill ushered as he held out his arm.

Licking your lips, you forced your feet to move forward. The white light returned as your body began to force its way inside the bubble. Closing your eyes, you continued to walk forward until you were fully immersed. 

"Okay, you can do this. You can do this," you assured yourself. Your eyelids slowly fluttered open and you were met with an entirely blank world. Your brows furrowed as you did your best to remember the place you had grown up. Bill did say the contents of this Earth would be up to you and you wanted to be as accurate as possible. 

After a bit of thinking, a road began to take form in front of you. As you continued to concentrate, more details were added in: the sidewalk, the trees, the cul-de-sac, and the several houses that made up the neighborhood where you used to live. The sky overhead became a bright, afternoon blue and the sun shone with brilliance over the house with the white and beige exterior.

Two windows proudly materialized on either side of the front door, and dark planks of wood began to come into being as a porch leading up to the door was made. A small porch swing took its place in the corner as the grassy front lawn and driveway appeared, finally giving your old home a completed look.

A smile graced your lips and before you knew it your hometown was completed right before your eyes. The neighbors you had began to walk up and down the street and cars drove down the road just outside the neighborhood. You could hear the birds chirping and dogs barking. You were truly home.

Before you knew what was happening, you felt your cheeks become soaked with tears. Using your sleeve, you quickly wiped them away. The world you were creating was an exact replica of your old one and that meant that your mother would be inside the house, waiting for you to come home.

You were just about to rush inside when something stopped you. The Earth you had created was the one you were living in right before you died. That meant Dipper and his entire family was in your life, and you knew Bill wouldn't be too happy about that. Considering your options, you closed your eyes made made one last adjustment to your world.

When you opened them you were relieved to see you were wearing shorts over leggings ripped in just the right places, an oversized t-shirt, and dirty converse. Your hair was a mess due to a lack of brushing and the backpack you had felt like it weighed a ton. It was perfect.

Walking up the porch steps, you felt your eyes well up in tears at the familiar creaking. You stood on the porch, taking a bit of time to center yourself. Taking a deep breath, you began to smell the several potted plants your mother kept outside. Letting their aroma comfort you, you finally found the courage to open the front door.

Stepping inside, you heard several pots and pans being shoved in the kitchen. Chuckling to yourself, you went over there and peeked inside.

Several emotions whirled inside you when you caught sight of your mother. She had a frazzled look on her face as she desperately tried to find the right pan for the new recipe she was trying out; she had always been hopeless in the kitchen. Her mouth was in a permanent frown as she tried to make sense of what she was reading.

It took a bit of effort to make sure your voice was natural, but once you managed it you began to speak. "Mom? You okay?"

Dropping the pot and cook book she was holding, she jumped back in surprise. "(Y/n)! You're back from school already?!" She checked the time and saw that it was, in fact, the time you always arrived home. "I thought I'd be able to finish making this before you got home." Shaking her head, she finally took a good look at you. "Why does it look like you have a rat's nest in your hair?" 

Your heart squeezed at her comment. Back when you were both still alive, your mother was always on your case about looking presentable. At the time it annoyed you to no end, but now that you were experiencing it again it made you long for your old life.

"I wake up at 6 a.m. every day. Forgive me if I value ten extra minutes of sleep more than brushing my hair. Besides, I'm pretty sure calling it a rat's nest is an exaggeration." You did your best to give her one of your old, sarcastic responses, but you couldn't help yourself. Stepping forward, you wrapped her in a hug.

"Oh! Are you alright?" You could hear the concern in her voice as she returned your embrace. "Did something happen at school?"

"No, I just missed you is all," you said as you finally let her go. 

"Missed me? You saw me this morning," she laughed. "Honestly, sometimes I don't know what goes on in your head. Wait." Narrowing her eyes, she took a closer look at your outfit. "Aren't those shorts a little too short for school? It doesn't even look like you're wearing pants with how long that shirt is! Was that hug a way to butter me up before telling me you got another dress code violation?"

Your lips tugged up in a smile. "Alright, you caught me. I'm going to head to my room and get started on my homework."

As you walked off to your room, you could hear your mother's words of concern. "Homework? She never does homework when she gets home. What on Earth did she get up to today?"

Closing the door behind you, you threw your backpack to the floor as you jumped into your old bed. It instantly conformed to your body as you curled up. Your eyes danced between the posters and pictures hanging up on your walls and the small shelf filled with books that were never read. You were truly home.

"So this is where you used to live?" Bill's voice nearly gave you a heart attack. He was standing by your closet, looking over your old wardrobe. After pulling out several t-shirts and hoodies, he gave you a matter of fact look. "Gee kid, you sure do like black."

"It goes with everything," you defended. "Now paws off my stuff. How long have you been in here?"

"I came in as soon as it materialized," he told you. "By the way, why do you look younger?"

Getting off the bed, you walked over to Bill and snatched the clothes he was holding out of his hands. "Because I _am_ younger. Sixteen if you want to be more precise. I made some of my best friends back in high school so I figured they were the ones you should meet."

 _And this is also before I met Dipper_ , you thought to yourself. You didn't want to live through another one of Bill's meltdowns. As long as you showed him your life before college you were in the clear.

"Great, so when do I start meeting them?" Bill's question was filled with enthusiasm. "Should we start with your mom? She's in the kitchen, right?"

"No!" Realizing your mother might overhear you, you lowered your voice. "I made everything in the world as accurate as I could. She'd flip if a guy just casually strolled out of my room. Beside, you look too old. You need to make yourself look more like a teenager."

"Hmm. If you say so."

Bill instantly turned younger right before your eyes. There was only one thing wrong: his clothes. It wasn't that his usual get up was bad, it was that no teenager in their right mind willingly chose to wear a suit and top hat. Using the power of your imagination, you transformed his clothes into something more appropriate. 

"There, now you look like a teen," you said as you looked over your work. Bill was now wearing a t-shirt under a bright red hoodie. His suit pants were replaced by jeans and his dress shoes were now sneakers.

"So when do we get to the part where I meet your friends?" Walking over to your mirror, Bill began to look himself over.

"After we go over a few things," you said while forcing him away from the mirror to face you. "You can't be too creepy. No rambling on about pain, suffering, or how entertaining humans are. You're supposed to be one of us. Also, you can't call me kid. People will think it's weird." Tapping your fingers together, you began to think of the final rule. "And you have to stick with this backstory. If anyone asks you're a new kid who just moved into the neighborhood. If they ask about your family or where you're from just make something up, but be consistent. Don't be entirely unbelievable by saying you're from Tibet or some shit. Oh, and since you wanted to do this in a more romantically involved context just say we've been internet friends for a while but are considering becoming more serious."

Bill frowned. "Those seem like a lot of restrictions. I was thinking this would be more fun."

"It'll be as fun as you make it. Now hurry up and go out the window. I'll call my friends to hang out and then you can meet them." You didn't even wait for him to respond. You ushered him out the window and closed it once he was through.

Reaching into your pocket, you pulled out an exact replica of your old phone. Going through the contacts, you quickly sent messages to your closest friends before rushing out of your room.

"Bye mom, I'll be back later!" You were already opening the front door when you heard her respond.

"What happened to doing your homework? (Y/n)?"

You were back on the porch and shut the door behind you. Walking around the side of the house, you got Bill and began to lead him away. "There's a park a few blocks away where I'd always meet my friends. For right now I'm just going to introduce you to my two best friends so you won't be overwhelmed."

"Please, I think I can handle a couple of teenagers," Bill said with an eye roll. "How bad can they be?"

The rest of your walk was silent and you picked up the pace once the park came into view. Sure enough, you saw the distant figures of your two closest friends standing by the playground. Your heart filled with joy as you took Bill by the hand and broke out into a sprint. 

"Jeremy! Sam!" Your arm waved frantically as you finally reached them.

"Jesus, you're acting like we haven't seen each other in years. It's only been an hour and a half since fifth period," Sam quipped as you wrapped her in a hug.

Letting her go, you plastered a smirk on your face. "A bitch can't be happy to see her best friend?"

"What, am I not part of this friend group? By the way, who's this," Jeremy asked while giving Bill a pointed look.

After giving Jeremy a quick hug, you began to explain. "This is Bill. He just moved into my neighborhood, but we've been internet buddies for a while now."

"Internet buddy? How do we know he's not some kind of murderer?" Narrowing her eyes, Sam looked him over. "Kinda scrawny though, so I doubt it."

From the way his brow furrowed, you could tell Bill took offense. "Believe me, I'm stronger than I look."

Before you could try to ease the tension, Jeremy jumped in. "Just so you know, the role of alpha male in the group is already filled by your's truly."

You couldn't help yourself. It'd been ages since you'd gotten to tease him. "Alpha male? Please, you're just the chauffeur."

"Chauffeur?" Bill's head tilted to the side.

"Jeremy's the only one with a car and license," you explained. "He's the designated driver."

Crossing his arms, Jeremy got straight to business. "Speaking of which, why did you want us to meet you out here?"

"Partly to meet Bill, partly to fuck shit up," you said. "Anyone have any ideas of what to do?"

Sam didn't even pause to think. "Christina is having a party at her house. We could go to that."

Blinking, you gave her a skeptical look. "Don't you hate Christina?"

"I do, which is exactly why we need to go to her party. Her parents are out of town for the week, there's going to be plenty of booze, and a reliable source told me where her parents hide the valuables."

"Robbery? Now we're talking!" Bill took an excited step forward.

A grin plastered itself on Sam's face. "Make sure you keep up. I want to see what you're made of Bill."

And so it was decided. You all left the playground and walked to the parking lot where Jeremy's car was sitting. Climbing into the backseat with Bill, you sat back as the car sped down to Christina's house.

Suddenly, you felt Bill place his hand on top of yours. You looked over to him to see he was staring out the window and taking in all the buildings you passed. He looked as if he were trying to memorize every detail of the town where you lived. A small smile tugged at your lips as you squeezed his hand ever so slightly. It was endearing that he was so into this.

But the car ride couldn't last forever. In about ten minutes, Jeremy pulled into a neighborhood and parked between two other cars. As everyone got out, you let your eyes scan every car in the area. The side of the road was absolutely packed, meaning Christina's house was filled to the brim with guests.

"Alright, I'm going to head for the safe in the basement. You guys scope out the scene" Sam instructed. "Make sure no one comes down and if things get out of control send me a text and we'll all meet back here."

"Won't you need help with the safe?" You gave her a concerned look. "Do you know the combination?"

She shook her head. "No, but Christina's family is a bunch of fucking idiots. It can't be that hard to figure out. It's probably a birthday or anniversary or something."

"Okay. Let's go."

Taking the lead, you walked up to Christina's driveway and knocked on the front door. A few boys you recognized from school struggled to open it for you. They were obviously starting to get buzzed, but you didn't pay them any attention. You worked together with Jeremy to distract some of the more sober guests while Sam slipped down into the basement. 

"Who are these people?" Bill gave everyone curious looks as they drank, talked, and danced. Several guests were really letting loose as they broke into the wine cabinet and started chugging straight from the bottles.

"Just some classmates from school. No one special," you told him. "Try to stay close. We don't want to lose each other."

You reached for Bill's arm and brought him closer to your side. It was a bit difficult to walk in unison with all the people in the way, but somehow you managed to get to the stairs where Jeremy was waiting.

Raising his brows, he spoke teasingly. "I see you two are getting snug. What did you say your relationship was again?"

Before you could speak, Bill jumped in. "Internet friends, but now that we live closer together we might just become more."

Even though you had told him that was the story you would stick to if asked, you couldn't help but become flustered. "Bill, you can't just say shit like that so casually! Especially not in front of all these people!"

Jeremy's eyes widened. "Crap, more than friends? How long have you two been talking anyways? (Y/n), I'm surprised you never brought this guy up until now." Taking a second to process this new information, Jeremy stood a little taller as he addressed Bill. "Still, as one of her best friends, I hope you realize I'm morally obligated to put you through at least three trials of pain and perseverance to prove you're good enough for her."

Bill's hands twitched at excitement from the word 'pain'. "What did you have in mind?"

Not wanting Bill to get carried away, you stepped between the two boys. "We can do Jeremy's trials later. Sam told us to scope out the scene remember? Besides, I doubt she would be fine with you squeezing into our friend group without making you pass a few tests of her own."

"Especially not when she catches wind of this 'more than friends' business," Jeremy pointed out.

"Right," you agreed. "Remember when she said she wanted to know if you could keep up? Consider that her first test. Find something valuable and pocket it. She'll give you brownie points for sure."

"Gee (y/n), I didn't know you and your friends were such delinquents," Bill said teasingly. 

"What can we say? Sam's a bad influence," Jeremy defended. "I'm going to finish looking around down here. You two head upstairs." After putting some thought into what he said, he quickly added in, "But stay out of the bedrooms."

With that, you all headed off in different directions. Once on the second floor of the house, you made yourself useful by taking note of who was there and what they were doing. At the same time, Bill was looking around for something to swipe. He decided that anything of value would be locked away in the master bedroom, so he took your hand and lead you there.

"Why didn't you tell me you were such a troublemaker?" He did his best to open the bedroom door, but frowned when he found it was locked. Taking a quick look around, he made sure no one was paying attention as he used magic to unlatch it.

"I really wasn't," you told him as you slipped into the room. Closing the door behind you, you made sure to lock it again. "I was a pretty good kid overall. My trouble making years only lasted during high school."

Bill was at the nightstand, going through individual pieces of jewelry. "Because of Sam?"

"Yeah. Believe it or not she used to be a goody two shoes. I remember back in the fourth grade she cried when the teacher caught her whispering to me during class."

Unsatisfied by the jewelry he had found, Bill set it aside and began looking through some drawers. "So what changed?"

Sighing, you got down on your knees and began helping him paw through the drawers. "Her parents got a divorce right before our freshmen year. It was really hard on her and she felt powerless to stop it, so she started to act out. At the time I knew the things she was doing weren't right, but fuck Bill, what are you supposed to do when you see your best friend like that?" You felt your throat closing up at the memories. "At first I tried to help her, but she insisted that this was something she had to do. A phase she _had_ to go through. So I followed. I didn't want her to feel alone."

Bill didn't even look up. "And Jeremy?"

"He transferred to our high school a few months in. He was a good kid so I don't really understand why he decided to become friends with us, but we sparked a bit of mischief in him as the weeks went by."

"So you turned him into a criminal," Bill deducted. "Sounds like Sam isn't the only bad influence."

Your frowned. "It's not like we're making him murder people. The worst thing we ever had him do was sneak into the school's office and steal the answer sheets for a standardized test, and we both helped him pull it off. If you divide it up we're each only thirty-three percent bad on our own."

"I really don't think that's the way it works," Bill said.

"Oh please, is the demon of chaos and destruction going to give me a lecture on being bad? You're literally stealing as we speak."

"Correction, I'm in the _process_ of looking for something to steal. Besides, you're helping me so by your own logic you're being fifty percent bad right now."

"No I'm not. Jeremy and Sam are part of this heist too, so that brings me down to a solid twenty-five percent."

After exchanging a few more quips, you looked over to Bill as he put something in his pocket. Before you could ask him about it, you felt your phone vibrate. Checking it, you saw you had messages from both Sam and Jeremy saying it was time to leave; apparently the cops had just arrived due to a noise complaint from neighbors. Seeing as there was a lot of underage drinking taking place, you knew there were bound to be more than a few arrests.

"We have to go. Hurry, the window's over here." You practically dragged Bill across the room as you slid the window open.

"Why can't we go out the way we came?"

"The cops are here," you explained. You already had one leg out the window. "If you're careful you can shimmy down the drain pipe and into the backyard."

To demonstrate this, you reached over and grabbed the thin metal pipe to your right. You held most of your weight with your legs as you began to grapple down the side of the house. Once you were a few feet down, Bill began to follow. Once you were both back on the ground, you took him back around the house and you headed for the car.

Sam and Jeremy were already waiting. Once they caught sight of you, they got in and you heard the engine roar to life. Taking Bill by the hand, you jogged up to them and slipped into the backseat.

As Jeremy pulled out of the neighborhood, you saw two cops leading several party guests out of the house in handcuffs. One by one, they were placed inside the police cars.

"Where to?" Jeremy asked the question aloud while turning onto the main road.

"Your place," Sam instructed. Shifting in her seat, she pulled several items out of her bag. "You guys won't believe how much stuff they had in that safe. Gold necklaces, wads of cash. It was great." She held her stolen possessions tenderly and rubbed them against her cheek. "This must be what love feels like."

"I found some nice things too," Bill interrupted. He emptied his pockets which were filled with old antique photos. "They'll never be able to replace this stuff!"

Sam's eyes glistened in approval. "Damn, makes me feel like I was thinking small by going for the material possessions. I like your style, Bill." Getting on her knees, she turned in her seat so she had a clear view of Bill. "We should work together more often."

Your breathing hitched at the suggestion. Bill was down for practically everything and so was Sam. They would end up in jail if you didn't do something.

"Hey, I'm actually kind of tired. You guys mind dropping me and Bill back home?"

"What?" Jeremy gave you a pointed look through the rear view mirror. "It's barely 4 p.m. How can you be tired? Unless," he trailed off, "you two want to be alone."

Sam's face twisted in confusion as she watched Jeremy waggle his eye brows. "What are you getting at?"

"Didn't you hear? Now that they're living in the same place they're thinking of taking their relationship to the next level," Jeremy said.

"What?!" Sam's face whirled towards you. "When were you planning on telling me this?!"

Sinking in your seat, you looked out the window to avoid eye contact. "I was waiting for a better time," you defended.

"I don't get what the big deal is. Is it really that big of a tragedy?" Bill looked between everyone in the car, clearly trying to understand why Jeremy and Sam were so focused on the subject of your relationship.

"Well when you're as close as the three of us are you kind of expect to get a heads up on these things," Sam pointed out as she settled back in her seat. "I don't think she's even mentioned you before."

"That's what I said!" Jeremy gripped the wheel as he turned to her. "I can't believe she would keep someone so close to her a secret!"

"You guys realize I'm still in the car right? Stop talking about me like I'm not here." Crossing your arms, you did your best to glare at them.

"Alright, fine. I'll tell you what: we'll drop the subject for now and take you guys home, but you're going to tell us everything tomorrow at school," Sam ordered.

"Alright," you agreed.

Making a u-turn, Jeremy got back on route to your house. You could feel your two friends staring at you and Bill in the backseat as they tried to dissect your relationship with him. It had been so long since you'd been with them that you'd almost forgotten how protective and intense they were. But then again, you had always been the same way with them.

Memories of the three of you came back to you at full force, making you feel melancholic. You couldn't help but wonder what the real versions of them were doing these days. The feelings in your chest tightened to an almost painful degree. Once you were dropped off at your house you had to force a cheerful goodbye.

Being around them for those last few minutes had been difficult. Why did you have to go and remember that none of it was real? It made you feel empty.

"Do I get to meet your mom now that we're back here?" Bill asked the question while giving your house an energized look. 

Your right hand clutched your shirt until your knuckles turned white. "Could we save that for another time? I...I want to get out of the bubble."

"What? Why?" Blinking in surprise, Bill looked back at you, but his gaze faltered when he saw how conflicted you looked. "You alright kid?"

"I'm fine. I just need to get out of here," you told him.

He studied you for a moment, trying to figure out why you looked so torn. A few seconds passed before he sighed and wrapped you in a hug. A bright light encompassed you as you returned to his living room.

You watched as Bill held out one hand and focused on the bubble. It slowly began to shrink down until it was small enough to fit in his palm. Making a fist, the bubble disappeared into blue dust.

"Did you destroy the bubble?" Your eyes were fixated his fist.

"No, I just sent it to a pocket dimension where I keep some other stuff. I can summon it again whenever you're ready," he explained.

A small twinge of guilt suddenly came over you. Bill had been really excited about meeting everyone and you pulled him away from it. "Sorry about cutting it so short today."

He shrugged. "That's alright, I still had fun. Your friends are pretty entertaining. Besides, getting to see a younger version of you was interesting. I just wish there weren't so many rules I had to follow."

You bit your lip. "Yeah, I went a bit overboard there. It wasn't like any of it was real. There was no reason for you to hold back."

"Does this mean I can let loose next time?"

"You still have to have some self control. Without it you'd end up ruining the bubble," you said.

Taking your hand in his, he looked at you happily. "So then there _will_ be a next time, right? You had me a bit worried with that strange look on your face."

Weighing your option, you figured there'd be no harm in going back so long as you remembered to keep yourself in check. "Yeah, there will be. Just maybe not for a few days." This was the best compromise you could come up with.

"That's fine by me! When you get to be as old as I am the days pass by in milliseconds!"

You kept up a cheerful conversation with him for the next several hours. He kept asking you questions about your old life and you answered them as accurately as you could, but you couldn't help but notice that sense of sadness didn't return when you talked to Bill. 

It made no sense to you. Why did it feel so horrible to relive the good old days with your friends, but feel so natural to talk about them with Bill?


End file.
